The Bitter Forces of Fate
by ClownQween'69
Summary: Jenna's been thrown into a world she could have never prepared for. Forced to live in the dark dwells of chaos and pain, disarray overwhelms her every second when she realizes she cannot abandon her terribly deep interest in her captor, Bane. And what's worse? He cannot restrain his interest in her... Bane/OC *SPOILERS* (Rated M for a reason)
1. Prologue: The Waiting

**And here we have a new Bane story. Give it an honest try while keeping in mind that things will be moving along quickly here in the beginning, and leave me your thoughts in review-form!  
An official disclaimer can be found on my profile.  
So without further adieu...**

He stared attentively at the newspaper spread out neatly in front of him on the desk, his fingers of his right hand pressed against his head to support it as his dark gray eyes studied the large picture of a three person family on top of the two page article, while somewhere behind him past the open door of his room water dripped from the ceiling onto the floor in the dark, the noise from the water droplets splashing against the concrete ground audible in three second intervals. His eyes roamed slowly from the tall blonde lady in a long white dress to the fancy man in a suit and tie to her left, until they would finally focus on the light haired, shorter woman standing in the middle of them: their daughter.

They appeared happy enough, with the blonde mother's arm wrapped carefully around her daughter's shoulders in a very fixed but loose manner while the father figure stood tall and proud on the other side, his body angled toward his daughter. Both of the parents smiled genuinely and widely, their body positions seeming to announce their love and fondness of their daughter in the middle, but to the man who stared at the newspaper, directly at the black and white, printed face of the daughter, he knew something was amiss. Something big.

Like her parents, she smiled as well –a wide, ear to ear grin that showed off the bottoms of her top front teeth– but just by looking into her eyes, even in a poor quality newspaper picture, he could see the clouded emotions; the lack of enthusiasm, support, and maybe even love the daughter held toward her surroundings, and her parents. Her parents were loose, comfortable, so obviously in their element, but the daughter was stiff, with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her knees locked up from under her dress. Her parents were looking directly into the camera's lens, smiling proudly at their new, beloved Gotham City, but the daughter appeared to be looking right through the lens at something unknown, something only she knew and could understand that her family could not.

_"Silvera Family Come to Save the Fate of Gotham" _he read the first half of the article to himself in his head. _"Gotham Structures Re-Built and Thriving Due to Generous Donations"._

He shook his head to himself with a small grin, the muscles around his mouth tugging his lips in either direction as far as they would allow his mouth to stretch, and he shifted his eyes back down to the picture, taking another glance at the daughter before he lowered his eyes slightly to read the caption underneath.

_"Mrs. Mia and Robert Silvera pose happily with daughter Jenna Silvera at charity ball". _

_ Happily_, he thought to himself. Maybe _they _were, but their daughter sure wasn't. Perhaps they were so blinded by their success and lifestyle choices that they failed to realize the torment and distance in their "beloved" daughter's eyes that was so prominent to him as he stared into them again. During the time of his staring, he heard footsteps drawing near, and he didn't have to turn around to know who had entered the room.

"Bane?" Isaac Barsad, a most trusted henchman of sorts –though "henchman" was a very loose term for him– began as he stepped forward into the dim light that surrounded the intimidating, muscular man that sat at the desk.

"Yes?"

"It's been confirmed that the Silvera family will be hosting a charity event for the Downtown Berkshire neighborhoods on Tuesday night. At their house," Isaac added quickly. A silent moment passed as Isaac kept his eyes focused on the back of Bane's head, or more so on the back of his mask, and he waited for an answer, wondering exactly what Bane's plans were with this new Silvera family. But that was always how it was; Bane's plans were normally kept a secret from him and the other 'recruits' until it was time to put the plans into action.

"Excellent," came that metallic voice again that seemed to fill up the entire room. "Assemble a small group to accompany you there. I want you to all keep an eye on this girl... right here."

Isaac stepped up to the desk, and when he was standing to the left of Bane, he leaned over to glance down at the paper, and his eyes found the face that was above Bane's index finger. Isaac cocked an eyebrow.

"Her?" He confirmed as he leaned up again, and he stared at the side of Bane's face.

"Her name is Jenna Silvera," Bane clarified in that higher-toned voice, a somewhat pleasant tone laced throughout it. "Tiny in height... long, red hair... bright blue eyes. She's impossible to miss. Follow her, talk and listen to her... memorize her every move. Then you will report back to _me_," he added, his voice dropping to a lower, more pronounced tone.

"And, that's all?"

"That'll be all, Barsad."

It was clear to Isaac that Bane had not only confirmed his question, but also dismissed him to start putting together his group of men to attend the party with.

"Alright," Isaac said as he took a step back. "I'll go get that group together."

"See to it that you do," Bane said, no indication of annoyance in his slightly accented voice, his eyes still firmly planted on Jenna's face. Isaac finally turned around, and Bane listened to his footsteps as he grew further and further from him until finally he had rounded the corner of the basement and was out of earshot.

"Oh, Jenna," Bane started to himself in more of a mumbled voice. "Fate will not be on your side. This time around, it will be more... bitter." He paused, his eyes staring at her false expression for a moment longer before he finally reached forward to fold over the newspaper. "In due time, Jenna," he went on. "I'm going to make you wish you had never been _born_."


	2. The Watching

It was just what Jenna Silvera expected from the charity guests as they mingled down below from where she stood on the stairs; woman's heels clicking against the marble floors, the constant hum of chatter and false laughter, the clicking of glasses or big serving spoons clanking against the most expensive dishware her mother owned as the guests helped themselves to more food from the buffet. It was always the same, it always had been her whole life, and truth was she found it loathsome. These people did not care about her family, nor the charity they were throwing thousands of dollars into. All they cared about was their public image, how their society viewed them, and their lives were all about maintaining that image. It didn't take long for Jenna to figure that out about Gotham; it was all just one big theater stage, where people dressed up fancy and lied to others and themselves about what they truly cared about or what was in important, just so they appeared superior and important. The majority of them were even dumb enough to leave their values or beliefs at the door, just so long as they exuded themselves as someone high in the society. It didn't matter if they were mindless. And Jenna knew exactly who fit that description the best: her parents.

She stopped in the middle of the long and wide staircase, made of white marble with red carpet running down the middle, and her eyes scanned over the mass of guests, looking for someone in particular who was rumored to be there. Her eyes wandered over her dad, with his red hair combed back slickly, his fancy black suit tailored and pressed, a wine glass in his hand that he had not even taken a sip of due to the fact he was not a big drinker, at all, and she rolled her eyes to herself.

"Hey, so Kristen _is _here after all. Just saw her."

Jenna glanced over to her right at Rodger, a good friend she made since that dreadful day she had moved to Gotham. Rodger was short, and had short, curly blonde hair and glasses. He came from a long line of inventors, and his father, who had recently invented a new line of Tupperware, was reaping in those benefits while he and his mother dragged him to all of the parties and events, one of which being where he met Jenna when her family was new. It was all a part of that image, Jenna knew, but fortunately she had managed to find someone in this Godforsaken city who felt the same way she did. Well, for the most part. Rodger still had his flaws.

"Fuck, really?" She asked now as she glanced away again, raising up on her toes in her high heels to get a better look. Her eyes suddenly locked on a young blonde girl who was talking with some new guy Jenna had never seen at these parties before, and her jaw became unhinged in frustration."Dammit, she _is _here!"

"Who's here? And Jenna stop doing that in those shoes, I thought I told you! You'll break the heel clean off and those are one of a kind from France, dear. I won't be able to buy you another pair."

As Jenna lowered herself down, she quickly glanced over to her right and confirmed quickly that Rodger had been replaced with her mother standing there, and glancing over her shoulder she noticed Rodger sitting behind them on the stairs. He was grinning at her, and Jenna glared at him for a moment until she was forced to look away when her mother, Mrs. Mia Silvera, a highly known model in France, Italy, Britain and now Gotham, stepped forward to pick up a strand of her long, straight, natural bright red hair and run her fingers down it gently.

"Honey, I told you this was a _curly-hair _or up-dooccasion. Straight hair right now makes you look glum, and it's pulling your gorgeous face down and making you look ugly. And a black dress? Sweetie what I did I tell you today? Black is for _mourning_, honey. This is not a mourning occasion, we're past that now."

If there was anything Jenna was good at, it was tuning out her mother. It had always been the same her whole life. Instead of having pretend tea parties with her when she was a child, it was pretending to walk down the runway her mother made out of wood in the backyard, modeling the latest fashions. Instead of playing dress-up in her mother's clothes, Jenna played dress-up in her own, new clothes that her mother bought and forced her to wear, making Jenna look the way she thought was acceptable. And now, instead of asking about how _her _life was going or realizing Jenna had different interests than her, Mia was constantly accusing her of her faults. It drove Jenna crazy, but at the same time she couldn't help but to feel slightly pathetic. Here she was, ready to turn twenty three in a few months and she was still tuning out her parents like a teenager overflowing with angst.

"Mom," Jenna complained as she leaned her head away, and she smoothed her hair back down with her hand. "It's fine, okay? Stop."

"And those _piercings_, Jenna. I can't _believe _you went and did that. If I would have known I would have never-"

"Let me out of the house, I _know _Mom." Jenna rolled her eyes as she looked away, and she could feel her mother staring at her new nose and eyebrow piercings. But her mother's opinion didn't matter. Jenna liked her piercings, she was sure that they only enhanced her face, and regardless of what anyone said she was keeping them in.

"I just don't understand why you would want to ruin your face, honey. I'm not the bad guy here, I'm trying to help you. You need to take those out."

"Well it looks like Dad could use some help. That Bob Basin guy is coming on to him pretty strong," Jenna said, ignoring her mother's comment altogether.

She turned again to stare at her mother, who had glanced down the stairs, her eyes falling onto her husband, Rodger Silvera, who owned his own line of dealerships, chatting with a man who was always fishing to borrow money, swearing he'd pay them back once his investments went through. Her mother said nothing as she sighed and she started down the stairs, lifting her blue dress up on her side as to not trip over the long fabric, and Jenna shook her head and rolled her eyes just as Rodger stepped up to her.

"So Kirsten is here," Jenna told him again, annoyance laced thick in her voice. "Which is just _great_. She was supposed to stay _home_."

"I know, but her mother came back early from her trip and dragged her here," Rodger said as their eyes both followed Kristen through the mass of people. She turned suddenly, her eyes instantly locking with Jenna's on the stairs, and she frowned at her, lifting up her hand as to silently suggest she was sorry for the change of plans.

"Fuck," Jenna cursed under her breath. "There's no other parties around. And nobody's going to be at any clubs on a damn _Tuesday _night."

"Hold on, I'll call Thomas," Rodger told her as he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. "He might able to pull something together." Jenna didn't bother answering him, and instead she started down the stairs, wanting nothing more at that moment then to just leave her stupid house and go find a party or something. She was desperately craving a smoke as well, and she knew she'd take the opportunity to abandon this place for one at anytime.

It was just as Bane had told Isaac: Jenna _was _impossible to miss. She stood out from the crowd, with her short, black dress with a deep v-line neck, that long, red hair, and most off all those bright eyes that were noticeable even from a good distance away. Isaac quickly finished the last bit of champagne in his glass before he carelessly set the cup down on a table next to him, and he started over to Jenna after nodding at another henchman, signaling that he was going in.

As Jenna was making her way toward him in the opposite direction, Isaac swiftly bumped his shoulder into hers purposely, and he turned around immediately with wide eyes filled with false concern as Jenna quickly caught her balance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Isaac said, slightly taken aback by the stunning aqua blue color of her eyes. "I didn't see you there," he added smoothly, his eyes wandering over her piercings before they found her eyes again.

"I don't blame you," Jenna answered. She took a quick look at the man's suit on his slender body before she raised her eyes back up to his face. He had short, brown hair that he hadn't bothered slicking back in the same manner as everyone else, and instead it stuck upward in an organized fashion. He had blue eyes that appeared to glow in the bright light of the house, and a thin, trimmed mustache that was attached to his neat and trimmed beard that extended down past his chin and up toward his ears.

Isaac let out a laugh, and he cocked his head to the side slightly as he pointed a lose finger at her. "You're Jenna Silvera, right?" He asked politely, although he already knew this, and he grew slightly confused when Jenna rolled her eyes. There was something she just hated about complete strangers with whom she had never met knowing who she was.

"Yeah," she answered as she nodded her head slightly, but she forced herself to smile when the man held out his hand.

"Isaac," he said with a smile. Jenna took his hand, and he grew surprised upon learning how tight her grip was on his hand as she shook it firmly once before letting go.

"Nice to meet you," she recited in a robotic tone of voice, just like she had gotten use to over the months in Gotham upon meeting tons of new people she could care less about. She was about to excuse herself from him, but when her mother suddenly stepped up to her, after noticing her conversing with a man she had never seen before, Jenna was suddenly stuck. Mia placed her hand on Jenna's shoulder as she smiled at the man, and with a roll of her eyes Jenna glanced away, wishing she would have had the time to warn Isaac of this so he could escape the trap that was Mia Silvera. He seemed nice enough. _Poor guy_, Jenna thought.

"Oh, I see you've met my gorgeous daughter," Mia boasted with a wide smile, Isaac forcing that same smile as well. If there was anything that didn't make one feel gorgeous, Jenna knew, it was being referredto as gorgeous when the person was standing right there. "I'm Mrs. Mia Nicole Silvera," she said now as she held out her hand. Isaac kept his smile as he reached out to shake it, and he noticed how dainty and loose Jenna's mother's grip was versus her own.

"Isaac Barsad," he introduced. "You have a beautiful home," he lied. Truth was, he couldn't stand their house.

"Why thank you!" Mia exclaimed as she took her hand back to place it over her heart. "Thank you so much for attending our small little get together!"

_Small_? Jenna thought to herself, and when she glanced back to Isaac she could tell he was probably thinking the same thing.

"Jenna, did you introduce yourself? This is Jenna Marie Silvera-"

"Oh no, she did," Isaac quickly interrupted, his eyes finding Jenna's face as she kept her gaze focused away from them. _Marie, _he thought to himself. Her facial expression was interesting to him, and he continued to stare at her until her mother began to speak again.

"Oh, wonderful," she said. "You know, Jenna has her _first _photo shoot for Glorious Gotham next week. She'll be modeling the new line from Whitney Claus, she's a famous designer from Germany and she's coming out here for it and everything. I had to pull some strings, but it's been arranged for Jenna to be on the cover." She smiled proudly as she glanced down to Jenna before looking back to Isaac once she saw Jenna was not even looking at them, and rather had fixed her gaze on the floor.

"Really," Isaac said, his eyes falsely bright as he nodded, pretending he found this interesting while meanwhile Jenna was kicking herself over her mother's obnoxious ways. It was _so _evident in this man's voice that he could care less, but her mother was terrible at taking hints, as was her father.

"Oh yes, I can't wait! Jenna's tried a little bit of it all; hosting some events, speaking publicly, acting, learning her father's business, and now modeling. We like her to experience all aspects of the culture as much as possible."

"Culture?" Isaac repeated, his smile fading, and when Jenna glanced over at him she knew him to be thinking the same thing she was, unaware that 'rich' had become its own culture...

"Oh yes," Mia went on, and Jenna felt her face reddening the more her mother spoke. "So, Mr. Bamlard, what is it you do for work?"

A grin slid onto Isaac's lips, not only at Mia's already forgetting of his name, but also due to his line of 'work', and he glanced down slightly with a laugh before he looked back up to Mia, noticing in the corner of his eye Jenna was looking at him now, too. "I uh, do a little bit of everything," he answered truthfully. "I'm a sort of... co-manager of this... _business_."

"Oh, sounds interesting," Mia answered, though her tone made it clear that she was losing interest. "And how's the pay?"

Jenna sucked in her lips as she shook her head, and Isaac grinned at her. Of course her mother would ask how the pay was before she asked what the company was or what they did.

"It's _great_," Isaac said with that same, devious grin. "It's very rewarding."

"Well that's great for you," Mia said as she glanced over her shoulder. "Well if you excuse me, Mr. Barmas, I must go join Robert. Have a lovely night, and please, help yourself to the buffet, and don't forget to write that donation check!"

Isaac said nothing as he smiled at her, and he nodded as Mia started away. Jenna continued to stand there, and the need to apologize for her mother grew strong enough to the point of her opening her mouth to speak without thinking.

"Sorry about her," she said, her voice low. "She's... a piece of work."

"Nobody's has ever called me _Bamlard_ before," he said, though he knew now that Bane's fellow henchman would go crazy with this name, seeing as how one of them was standing rather close to them, his back facing them as he listened in.

"Yeah, she's fucking ridiculous," Jenna went on, Rodger waving to her from across the hall catching her attention. He was smiling widely as he waved hectically to her, the bright lights from above reflecting off his glaces and hiding his eyes from view, and it was evident to Jenna that Rodger had found a place to go so she could ditch this event. "Well if you'd... excuse me," Jenna forced herself to say politely. "I gotta go."

"Of course," Isaac said with a grin. "Maybe I'll see you around, Jenna."

Jenna stared at him for a moment, a slightly creeped out feeling overcoming her for some reason. "Yeah, maybe," she said slowly. "Bye."

"Goodbye," Isaac said, and as Jenna turned to walk quickly into the mass of the people, he kept his eyes planted firmly on her while the henchman who had been listening turned around to step over to him, and he pressed the red button on the recorder he had been holding before he tucked it into his pocket.

"Bane wants _her_?" He asked, confusion and disgust laced in his voice. "_Why?_"

"Not sure," Isaac said with a shrug. "But it's his orders, and our duty to get her to him..."

"So what you got?" Jenna asked once she had approached her friend, and she stood next to him to read the text message on the screen of his phone, Thomas explaining that yes, he was having a party at his house and to head over there now since his supply of alcohol was limited.

"We've got a party. How soon can you get out of here?"

"_Now_, like right now." Jenna said. "Let me just go get my bag."

"Alright, but hurry up. This place is growing more obnoxious by the second."

"Tell me about it," Jenna agreed, that annoyed tone back in her voice, and she quickly started for the stairs.

Moments later, after she had returned with her large purse, she met Rodger in the great hall of her house, and after checking to make sure her parents were preoccupied with something else, they started toward the back of the house to exit out of the sliding glass doors that led into the spacious backyard.

"Don't you ever feel nervous, sneaking out like this?" Rodger asked as Jenna carelessly tossed her bag over the fence. She knew Rodger to have ever sneak out of the her house with her one other time, for he usually convinced her to come up with some story to tell her parents instead so they knew they were leaving.

"No," Jenna answered as she placed her hands on top of the fence to pull herself up. "Just pathetic," she added, and as she placed her feet flat on the wood, she gritted her teeth slightly as she hoisted herself up, and once she had placed her foot on the horizontal board in the front, she steadied herself before glancing back down at Rodger, who was staring nervously past the pool and at the glass doors. "Rodger!" She whispered loudly. "C'mon."

She jumped off the fence, landing safely on the grass on the other side, and after she picked up her purse she waited for Rodger to the do the same. Once he landed noisily on the ground next to her, he stood up quickly and followed her past the side of the large house as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. Jenna glanced around the corner before she started walking on the stone pathway in front of her house toward the driveway, but just as she started past the front door it opened suddenly, and she jumped when four men stepped out onto the porch, and a small shock of surprise ran up her spine when she realized one of them was Isaac. _Coincidence_? She thought. It had to be.

"Hey," he said with a grin as he stepped off of the large stone porch to move closer to her. "Long time no see. You leaving already?"

"Uh, yeah," Jenna answered as Rodger stopped behind her, eying the four men with suspicion.

"Where you headed?" Isaac went on to ask as he reached into his pocket to pull out a pack of Camel cigarettes.

"Something came up," Jenna lied smoothly. "We gotta go."

She appeared to be in a rush, so with that same grin Isaac took a small step back_. _"Of course," he said. Without another word or so much as a glance back at him, Jenna and Rodger continued down the driveway, Isaac's eyes on Jenna the entire time.

"Who was that guy?" Rodger asked as he quickened his pace to walk directly next to her, and he took out his phone to start dialing for a limo.

"I don't know," Jenna answered as she reached around to pull out a cigarette and a lighter, and she stuck it in between her pink plump lips before hungrily lighting it. "Just someone I met tonight," she added as she exhaled. Rodger nodded, but said nothing else as he followed Jenna down the driveway and hill and toward the black gates that separated her property from the neighborhood.

–

That constant dripping noise of water splashing against the concrete grew louder as Isaac headed toward what could only be described as Bane's 'bedroom' of sorts after he had changed out of his uncomfortable suit, and once he approached the opened door, he paused to knock on the frame, his eyes falling onto Bane's back as he sat at the desk again.

"What did you gather?" Bane asked, knowing already that his most trusted right-hand man was standing behind him. He did not bother to look at him, and instead he kept his eyes planted firmly on the dark wood of the large desk in front of him. Isaac took this question as his informal invite to step into the room, and he glanced over his shoulder before he lifted his hand to wave away the fellow men who had joined him in spying on Jenna. They dispersed quickly, and Isaac knew they wanted nothing more than to get away from Bane. Even after all this time, most of his henchmen still feared him, scared that just one, little screw up would lead to their untimely death. And they were right, Isaac knew.

He turned and stepped into the room, his boots loud as they made contact with the concrete each time he took a step forward, and he stopped a few feet behind Bane. "Her full name is Jenna _Marie _Silvera," Isaac started, listening as Bane scrawled something down on a piece of paper – most likely her name.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes," Isaac answered. "And her mother."

At this, Bane placed both his bare hands on the desk and slowly pushed his chair away from the desk, and he took his time with standing up before he turned around, his eyes instantly falling on Isaac, and he took a step closer to him.

"I'm not interested in the girl's mother, Barsad, I sent you to the mansion he keep an eye on Jenna. What did you gather about _her_?" He ended his question in a slight growl, and Isaac listened to the raspy breaths that escaped past his mask as he waited for an answer.

"She appeared to hate it there – at the party I mean. Her mother embarrassed her, and she appeared uninterested in everything. After we talked I caught her sneaking out of the house, like a damn _child, _and we followed her limo to some party in the southern area of Midtown and came back here. I couldn't go into that house after her though, I'm sure you understand."

"I understand," Bane replied in a slightly higher tone of voice. "Is it safe to presume this conversation was recorded, like I had asked?"

"Yes sir, James has it."

"Then bring him here," Bane commanded simply, his tone suggesting this was something that Isaac should have come up with himself, and as Isaac quickly turned around to exit the room, Bane turned around himself to step back over to the desk, his eyes falling onto the name he had scribbled down on a piece of a paper. A moment later he heard footsteps enter the room, and he turned around just as James handed him a small recording device. Bane took it from him, and without a word he turned around again to lower himself into the chair.

"That'll be all," Bane said as he rolled himself closer to the desk. "Close the door behind you." Without a word both Isaac and James backed out of the room, and once he heard the door close, he immediately pressed his thumb to the play button to listen.

_"Oh, I'm so sorry,"_ came Isaac's voice through the recorder over the hum of people in the background. _"I didn't see you there."_

_"I don't blame you." _

Her voice was not what he had been expecting. It was lower pitched than normal, and not as soft spoken. It was a prominent voice that held purpose and self-will, and upon hearing it Bane cocked an eyebrow.

Isaac laughed then. _"You're Jenna Silvera, right?"_

_"Yeah,"_ came Jenna's voice again. _Well executed, my friend_, Bane thought to himself over Isaac's smooth ways, and he praised the believable unknowing tone Isaac spoke in.

He continued to listen as Isaac went about introducing himself, and he couldn't help but to grow contemplative every time Jenna spoke, especially when she said _"nice to meet you_,_" _back to Isaac. His eyes roamed down to stare at the picture of Jenna and her parents in the news paper. Her voice carried the same undertone her eyes held in the picture. Jenna was unhappy with her life, but yet she did nothing to improve her situation. _How interesting... _

Suddenly he heard a new voice, and upon listening further he learned that it was the voice of Jenna's mother. He placed his thumb on the fast forward button, preparing to skip over her moth, but he stopped himself, and instead listened to all that her mother was saying about Jenna. _Oblivious, uncaring, slightly idiotic_, Bane thought to himself as he listened to Mia speak, and from behind his mask he couldn't help but to grin slightly at Isaac's tone when he repeated _"culture?" _and it was obvious to Bane what he had been thinking, for he was thinking it too. A moment later, after Jenna had excused herself in that distracted tone, the recording ended, and Bane reached out to set it on his desk before he leaned back in the chair. It would all work out so perfectly, really, once he took Jenna. After she would help him out with a little task first, perhaps she would think of it as some sort of sick rescue, and right when she would get high on the hope that she'd be away from her despised life, she'd realize just how good she actually had it, but by then it would be too late. Bane would kill Jenna, right after he admired that glint of hope in her bright blue eyes fade away rapidly. And that is when it would all begin...

**Please leave me a review! I want to know what you thought! **


	3. An Unexpected Meeting

The bright sunlight suddenly shining into her room due to some sort of fierce action that was unknown to her at the moment caused Jenna to groan, the light even blinding with her eyes closed, and with furrowed eyebrows she clutched her blanket tighter and started to pull it over her head. She grew confused, however, when some other force was pulling it from her grasp, and when her blanket was practically ripped from her hands she leaned up slightly and opened her eyes – a bad idea – and through all the light she saw her mother walking away from her bed. She closed her eyes again and plopped back down onto her pillow, figuring that it was her mom who had ripped open her dark red curtains. A headache already starting to form, the light burning and blinding, having to deal with her mother first thing in the morning... this day was already destined to be bad.

"Jenna, get up," Mia was saying as she moved about the room, picking up stray objects to put them in places she considered to be more appropriate. "It's already nine thirty. We have a fitting to go to today," she went on to explain as she paused in front of Jenna's vanity mirror to fix her hair. Jenna kept her eyes closed, and she made a somewhat disgusted face as she shook her head. _Who cares?_

When Mia turned around and saw her daughter hadn't moved a muscle, she let out a sigh and stepped back over to the bed to sit down on the edge of it next to Jenna's curled up frame. "Jenna Marie," she started in a sterner voice. "You need to get up. Where did you go last night?"

This caught Jenna's attention, and she let out a sigh as she kept her eyes closed. "I was hungry."

"Hungry?" Mia repeated. "What does that mean, Jenna?" She sounded frustrated.

"It's means I was _hungry_," Jenna said slower, unable to help her crisp tone. "Rodger and I left to go get food."

"We had food _here_, Jenna," Mia said back with a sigh. "That is just-"

"You know I don't like all that fancy food, Mom," Jenna said as she finally forced herself to open her eyes, deciding a cup of coffee and a nice trip out of the house was the only thing that had the potential to save her day. Mia was staring at her daughter as she made her way off of the bed, and her eyes followed Jenna as she stepped over to her vanity to put a cloth headband over her head to hold her hair back and out of her face until she had the opportunity to shower.

"Since _when_?" Mia asked now as Jenna stepped over to her walk-in closet, and she rolled her eyes as she pulled out a pair of black leggings and a long, gray t-shirt.

"Since _forever_, Mom," Jenna replied. Mia still looked overly shocked and confused, but Jenna thought nothing of this. The only thing her own mother knew about her was what she looked like. She had no clue what preferences Jenna had in trivial things, like foods and colors, what she wanted to do with her life (which she wasn't even so sure about herself) or how she truly felt about her parents and herself. But it wasn't like Jenna could talk to her parents about anything. It was always in one ear and out the other. If it wasn't about their current city, the house, modeling, cars, her father's 'secret' business, money or place in society, it just wasn't important. That was why Jenna closed the closet door behind her to finish getting dressed, letting her Mom stew in her own confusion on the bed, and a moment later she opened the door, tossing her pajamas on the floor before she grabbed her purse.

"Jenna you could have told me you were leaving. I was worried."

_Yeah, worried. You never even fucking called me to see where I was, _Jenna thought to herself as she stepped out of her bedroom door. "You looked busy," she replied blandly as she started down the stairs, her mother stopping at the railing that over-looked the great hall from the upstairs hallway after she had followed her out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked loudly now as she watched her daughter start to the front door.

"Coffee," Jenna answered simply before she disappeared out of the door. She walked quickly down her driveway, nodding with a slight smile at the gate keeper in his own little booth at the side of the driveway, and just as she knew there would be, two limos were waiting behind the gate alongside the curb. Having limos parked and ready to go was a service her parents paid extra for, and something Jenna could never understand. But at the moment all she wanted was a cup of coffee, so she disregarded any thoughts about her parents and smiled slightly at the limo driver who rounded the front of the car to open the back door for her. She paused immediately, however, recognizing the mustache and beard on the head that wore sunglasses and a chauffeur hat, and her lips parted as her eyes narrowed while _Isaac _stepped up to her. He paused too, pretending to be shocked, and he slowly took his sunglasses off from his face.

"Isaac?" Jenna asked, confusion and a slightly nervous feeling flooding her body. What was this random man doing here, _again_?

Isaac smiled as his eyes widened slightly, and he debated with himself quickly over which issue to address first. "Wow, normally people of your _culture _don't remember names very well."

Jenna continued to stare at him until she bowed her head to shake it with a small grin, remembering her mother's words from last night.

"You're a limo driver?" Jenna asked now as she looked back up to stare into his blue eyes.

"Uh... yeah," Isaac started. "I know this may seem a bit creepy, but my boss assigned me to come here and... hang out, pretty much." This was not a lie, and Isaac fought to hide his grin. "It's some weird request your parents made here. But uh, yeah. This is embarrassing. I was supposed to be driving your mother somewhere in the afternoon." He let out a false, nervous sounding laugh.

Jenna was still staring at him, though her expression had softened. "So, this is what you're the co-manager of? A limo service company? You know, if my mom finds that out she'll brood over the fact that she invited a _chauffeur _to one of her events. She'll probably even go as far to do everything in her power to get you fired."

"A driver isn't considered high class?" Isaac asked back as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh god no, not to her," Jenna replied, finding it slightly odd how easy it was to talk to him, though at the same time, if Isaac really was a limo driver, shouldn't he be better about preforming his duties?

"But... it was a _charity _event."

"I know," Jenna replied with a roll of her eyes. "She makes no sense. But I'm confused," she changed the topic quickly. "You said last night that you do 'a bit of everything', and that you're the co-manager of a company. So, why are you _driving _the limo? Shouldn't you have more important stuff to do?" She couldn't help but to still have a hint of doubt and skepticism over this situation still, regardless of how nice he was.

_Damn, she's blunt_, Isaac thought to himself, but he forced himself to smile. "My boss owns a few companies. See, we've been... friends... since before he started all of them," he lied. "And I drive the limos sometimes because I _want _to."

Jenna nodded her head slowly, not sure if she believed him fully. His answer seemed odd, but at the same time she knew it was a possibility. Maybe she had finally met the one person in Gotham who wasn't some rich, hot-headed asshole and had more of a busy life than hanging around charity events and criticizing people. Isaac stepped closer to the car now and he opened the back door finally.

"Shall we?"

Jenna smiled at him slightly before she leaned down to get into the limo, and once her legs were inside Isaac closed the door and rounded the limo to get into the driver's side. He turned the car on and took a deep breath, reminding himself to drive smoothly and simply. Driving slow and cautiously was something he was barely capable of anymore, so with this reminder in his mind he slowly pushed his foot to the gas pedal, and crept the car through the neighborhood, trying to appear like he actually belonged to a professional limo service. _Plan's in action_, he thought to himself, satisfied.

Jenna was staring out of the window, watching the thick trees in her neighborhood go by as the end of Summer sun rose higher in the sky, and with a small sigh, her headache seeming to grow worse, she faced herself forward and laid her head on the back of the seat. Isaac glanced up to stare at her through the mirror for a moment before he dropped his eyes back down to the road.

"So where are we going?"

Jenna kept her eyes closed. "The Starbucks on 5th and Main," she answered. Isaac said nothing else as he turned out of her neighborhood, and a short ten minutes later he was parking in front of the Starbucks. Jenna opened her door before Isaac could get out to do so, and she said nothing as she grabbed her purse to step out of the car while she noticed Isaac take out his phone from his pocket. People who had been sitting outside or walking by on the sidewalk glanced and stared at her as she started to the door, and she kept her face blank. She hated how everyone had to always look at her, their judging eyes constantly analyzing her every move. It was like she was famous for no reason, all because of her parents and their responsibility for their participation in rebuilding the city after that Bane guy disappeared... or died.

It was one of the first things Jenna and her family had been informed of when they first moved into their house in more detail. Reporters went crazy with asking questions on her parent's opinions of it all, but when they asked her for her thoughts, she always had the same thing to say: "no comment". Jenna didn't _care_. Sure, it would have been horrible to have been in the city when all that she heard about was happening, with all the explosions, trapped police officers and everyone living a fend-for your-life type of lifestyle as they all waited for some giant bomb to go off, but the fact was she wasn't there for all of that. Now this guy was gone, and the city seemed to be thriving for the most part.

But Jenna would be lying if she said she didn't care _completely_. She knew of Gotham's history, and thinking about it deeper or for too long only made her desire to move away stronger. Her new home city seemed to be notorious for the worst of the worst, and the fact that her parents even wanted to live here blew her mind away. Sure, she had plans of leaving as soon as possible, but those plans were undefined, and truth was she had no idea how to go about them. She stepped into the line, and she glanced past the three people in front of her to look at the workers behind the counter. They looked miserable, and Jenna was not prepared to live the rest of her life in more misery. Her parents were horrible, and she hated being recognized, but it seemed her life was destined to be that of a celebrity. What if she was to get some normal job in the city? Nobody would let the idea of _Jenna Silvera _having some 9-5 job go unnoticed. She was better than that, wasn't she, people would think. Her mother was a model, her father a wealthy dealership owner where he supplied Vipers and Lamborghinis and other cars of the sort. The sight of Jenna working at a Starbucks or department store would be a tragedy for her family and serve to be nothing but gossip for Gotham. She's good enough to be a model, or an actress. But was she?

Jenna didn't want any of it. She didn't want a 9-5 job, and she most certainly did not want a job that called any attention to herself, at least not in Gotham. But in order to even think about getting out of the city she had to start with a job somewhere. Like her parents would ever supply her with enough money to ship her out of the city. They had their hooks in her, and they were deep.

She sighed now as she moved up in line, knowing she'd just have to cope with everything for a little bit longer. Eventually, the Silvera name would die down, and they would be just another wealthy family living in Gotham, just like everyone else. With further thought, she took a moment to be appreciative of the fact she was not a Wayne family member of any kind. _That _would be terrible, and something that would never die down.

After purchasing her simple large cup of coffee, she turned to exit the building without a word and as she headed toward the limo her cell phone began to ring.

"Hey Rodger," she greeted once she had pulled it out of her pocket and answered.

_ "Hey, Jenna. You think you could stop by for a second?"_

"Sure, why?" She asked as she opened the door to the limo to step inside.

_"I can't find my snake..."_ Rodger replied. _"My parents are gonna be home soon and my mom will flip and kick me out to the streets if she finds out it's lose somewhere in the house."_

"How'd you manage to lose a three foot boa, Rodger?" Jenna asked, her question causing Isaac to glance at her through the mirror.

_"I don't know, can you just hurry please?" _

Jenna grinned. "Yeah I'll be there in a sec." She hung up her phone and turned to place it in her purse. "Gotta go to Chestnut Street," Jenna said as she zipped up her bag. "It's off of Montgomery," she added.

"Someone lost a snake?" Isaac asked as he pulled away from the curb. Jenna glanced up to him. Weren't limo drivers supposed to be silent and mind their own business?

"My friend," she answered. "He's kind of... absent-minded sometimes."

"You don't fear snakes?"

Jenna's eyebrows met in the middle. "Why would I be afraid of them?"

"Most girls are."

"Guess I'm not like most girls then."

"What makes you so unique?"

The car grew silent as Jenna stared at the back profile of his face, that suspicious feeling creeping up on her again. He had to just have been making conversation, though. Since he had met her the night before, maybe she figured that made him think he could abandon his professional ways and talk as though he was more of a taxi cab driver.

"I don't know," she answered as she glanced out of the window. Isaac glanced back at her in the mirror, and he cleared his throat before he casually asked her a new question.

"Where were you going last night?"

This question caught Jenna off guard, and she glanced forward again with narrowed eyes, her lips parting.

"My friend called," she lied. "She was scared her ex was going to go over to to her house." _Why does he care?_

Isaac kept a straight face as he glanced at her in the mirror. "Why would he do that?"

"They were together three years and she broke up with him over the phone," Jenna said smoothly and passively as she glanced out of the window, and with no further questions the car grew silent again as Isaac drove on. _Good liar_, he thought to himself. Had he not known better, he would have actually believed her story.

–

The ride went by quickly, and before Jenna knew it, she was pointing out which house to stop at, and Isaac parked the car right before Jenna pushed open the door.

"This is embarrassing, but, I need to go to a gas station. The car's almost on empty," Isaac lied as he glanced back at her. Jenna shrugged.

"Okay," she said, her tone indicating this was no big deal. "This may take a while, anyway." She closed the door behind her, and as she walked up the driveway she listened to Isaac drive away. He really wasn't the best limo driver in town, and with further thought Jenna began to feel suspicious all over again. She couldn't help it. Coincidence was never something she took seriously, and there was something that was unprofessional about Isaac as he preformed his job. If he was a co-manager of the company, why was he driving the limos? He appeared to despise the wealthy's mindset just as much as Jenna, so why would he _volunteer_ to drive them around?

But she had dropped the issue at Rodger's door, and after half an hour of seemingly endless minutes they finally found Rodger's snake hiding on the top edge of the shower doors and returned it to the safety of its cage. After Rodger thanked her fifty times too many, Jenna asked if he would be able to skip his college classes for the night to accompany her somewhere, but Rodger had to decline, claiming that he had a big test and a quiz, but Jenna knew this was a lie. Rodger usually never did anything that could be considered fallacious, even if the offense would be miniscule. But Jenna pretended to buy his story, and after saying goodbye and promising that she'd call him later, she exited the house, trying to decide how she could get out of her fitting with her mother and what she could do for the rest of her day.

The limo was parked where it had been before, and due to the amount of time Jenna had been gone she was positive Isaac had completed his task of getting gas. She rounded the front of the car to start to the back door just as Isaac stepped out of the car suddenly, the noise catching Jenna's attention just as she placed her hand on the handle, but she noticed something different about him. His face no longer looked amused or wary, and instead the expression had been replaced with a stern and serious look, and he stared directly at her as he rounded the car himself.

"I got it," Jenna said to him as she flashed him a small, nervous smile, figuring that's what he had been coming over to do. But he ignored her, and continued walking over to her anyway. "I've got the door, it's fine," she repeated as she finally looked away from him to pull it open. She felt her heart skip several beats, however, when her eyes suddenly fell on an unfamiliar man sitting inside the car right by the door, and with wide eyes she quickly started to back up, her eyes finding Isaac as he suddenly took a large step behind her to start to force her into the limo. Her heart began to race, and despite her headache she struggled against him, moving and twisting her body awkwardly to get out of his tight grasp, and just when she felt herself losing the battle she quickly brought her feet up to place on either side of the open door's frame, and as Isaac tried to push her in she pushed in the opposite direction. She _knew _something had felt off about him, and she had been right. All her life she always told herself to follow her gut instinct every time, for it always proved to be right. But yet she always let herself follow the logic and go with what seemed more sensible. All she knew now was there was no _way _she was getting back into that limo.

She gritted her teeth as Isaac continued to push her into the car, and using all the strength she had she continued to push and thrash her upper body. But all hope was lost just seconds after she put her feet up when the man who had been sitting near the door turned to reach out finally and grab her legs, and he easily removed her feet from the door and helped Isaac with pulling her inside. Isaac shut the door immediately and ran around the car to get back into the driver seat.

Jenna continued to struggle as the man forced her to sit next to him in the middle of the seat, and at that point several things happened at once. Through her fear-filled mind, she had not even comprehended that another two men were sitting on the on the seats adjacent of her and the guy who held her, and only after the man pulled out a gun to push against her head did she freeze, finally hearing loud and eerie breaths coming from some sort of respirator, it sounded like, as Isaac started out of the neighborhood. She paused instantly, her body stiffening as she stared at the gun that was being held to her head, and now she allowed the man to force her body to turn around so she was sitting correctly on the seat before he lowered the gun to hold it above her hip, the barrel digging into her skin. Her eyes instantly found the source of the breathing, and her heart began to pound violently against her chest as her eyes widened. This man was _large_, with thick muscles underneath his odd and bulky vest. He had a bald head, and he barely fit in the car as he sat on the edge of the seat, his back hunched as he leaned over. His dark eyes were cold, but also curious as they stared directly into hers, his eyebrows slightly raised, but what freaked her out the most was not his size or his eyes, but the large, intimidating mask that he wore, the large metal piece covering his nose, most of his chin and jaw, the band in front extending all the way up in between his eyes and eyebrows to the back of his head. Granted she had seen him before in a picture, seeing that mask in real life was another story all together. As she fought to catch her breath, but also keep her composure –she was not going to be taken advantage of in any way due to prominent fear– she listened to him breathe for a short few seconds longer, but when he finally did speak, Jenna could feel her face twist into a quick expression of terror as a cold shock ran up her spine and lingered on the back of her neck.

"Jenna Silvera," he spoke her name slowly in some sort of odd accent, that muffled voice enunciating each sound of her name. "We meet at last."

Bane watched her face carefully, noticing in full how her slightly fearful expression turned into a hard and cold glare. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice even sterner and lower in person, and her tone was forcibly cold and bitter.

"Ah, no need for hostility, my dear! Consider this our first, formal introduction. I expect it's save to assume you know who I am?"

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as she dug her nails into the leather seat, the voice coming through mask unlike anything she had ever heard in her life. "_First_?" She repeated, and as she continued to stare at Bane, her heart still racing and her body shaking slightly, she swallowed nervously when he let out a laugh.

"You really are unlike most, Jenna," Bane said. "Tell me, why didn't you bother with screaming during your... capture? Didn't your parents teach you to do so when a stranger is wronging you?"

Jenna continued to glare into his eyes, and as Isaac continued down the Gotham streets, the sun peaked out from in between a break of trees, and it shone directly onto Bane through the window, illuminating his eyes to show that they were actually a light shade of gray. This startled her slightly, but she recovered quickly. "Screaming won't get the _stranger _to stop. And people just close their doors and windows when they hear it."

"_Ah!_ So you're a girl of _action_... and _defense! _Your attempts to escape this meeting were... amusing... maybe satisfactory for a woman or man who didn't know what they were doing. But you're with the real deal now, Jenna," he said, his voice pitch lowering into a muffled growl, and he bowed his head slightly as he continued to look directly into her eyes. "As you can see, Mister Barsad is quite capable of many talents, one of which you just witnessed."

"I wasn't aware _kidnapping _someone was a _talent_," Jenna interrupted as she tilted her head to the side in a daring, sassy manner.

"And _I _wasn't aware that wealthiness was culture," Bane returned in nearly the same tone, and he smiled from under his mask, wrinkles appearing on either side of his eyes to show he was doing so, and he watched that look of fear come over Jenna again before it faded with force. "Your mother, she seems... naïve'."

"How do you know that?" Jenna asked, her voice quieter now, and she bowed her head slightly.

"Looking intimidating doesn't make one feeble minded... _Miss Silvera_," he breathed. "I recorded you!" He added a second later in a higher pitch of voice, his tone suggesting she should have guessed that. "I've done my research, you see. And now I will get on to the purpose of this introduction. Your family... has something that _I _desire."

A look of nervousness and confusion overcame her, and Bane could see in her eyes she was most likely already thinking exactly what he was.

"Two things, actually," Bane corrected. "But you won't enjoy the latter. Your father," he began now, letting out a slow and steady breath, "isn't _just _a dealership businessman, is he Jenna?" The look on her face confirmed this was true. "I didn't think so. Your father, Mister Robert Silvera, _secretly _owns and operates a strictly underground _weapons _manufacturing company for a small group of officials, with a Mister Jeffery Williams."

_Uncle Jeff_, Jenna thought to herself. But _how _was it even possible that he knew that? In Jenna's immediate family, only her, her mother and her pseudo uncle knew of the company her father had started a long time ago. She realized now why she had met Isaac at the party and why he had claimed to be a limo driver –she knew it wasn't coincidence– but how had this Bane guy figured that one out?

"I want full access to his operations, therefore I am asking you, Jenna, to hand deliver me the admittance I need to the warehouse." He watched as she slowly started to shake her head, and he could see the confused look that she faked on her face. "Are you claiming you have no idea how to get in?" Bane asked now, his gaze still fixed intently on her as Isaac made a left turn, and Jenna cursed at the tinted windows and the people who could not see into them. "No matter," he went on now. "If you... fail... to give me what I ask... I will kill your parents and I will kill you as I carry out the task myself. Now, which will it be? Life through following simple directions, or death of your parents by your own unwillingness?" He took Jenna's biting of her lip, crossing her arms and looking away from him as her picking the first choice, and he leaned back in the seat, satisfied. "You don't fear me, do you, Jenna?"

A pout found Jenna's plump lips as she she stared out of the window, past the man who held the gun on her. "If you were going to kill me you would have done it by now," she replied sternly, though Bane could easily detect the shaking in her voice. She was trying to appear brave and fearless. _How precious, _Bane thought to himself, and he let out a laugh, the eerie chuckle coming through the respirator causing Jenna to slowly look back over at him. Just his laugh alone seemed to prove her wrong, and her eyes widened slightly as she stared at his mask before looking back into his eyes.

"I can assure you you have _much _to fear," Bane replied, dropping his tone. "I never told you what the second thing I wanted was." He narrowed his eyes on her, and it caused her to swallow nervously. "Take a guess."

She continued to stare at him for a moment longer until she tightened her crossed arms as she hunched her shoulders up uncomfortably, and her eyes dropped to the floor, which was a pity since Bane already experienced great pleasure from looking into them. "What do you want with me?" She asked in a small voice, her question causing Bane's eyebrows to raise.

"Smart girl," he appraised. "I honestly thought you wouldn't get it right."

Jenna continued to stare at the ground, and she was just about to repeat her question when she suddenly heard her phone buzz loudly twice from within her purse, signaling she had a new voice mail. Had it been any other time, she would have grown frustrated over her phone for having such a gentle vibration for calls, but she knew that was not what was important at the time. She glanced over to her purse, but she didn't dare move, feeling the man next to her push his gun even further into her skin. Bane was staring at her purse, and Jenna glanced up with only her eyes to watch as he leaned over to reach inside of it and pull out the phone. She swallowed, her heart still racing like crazy, and she watched as Bane stared at the screen for a moment before he pushed two buttons, and suddenly a ringing noise played through the phone that he had put on speaker, and he continued to lean over as he held it up in his hand.

_"Jenna Marie, I don't know _where _you are but we're due for a fitting in _ten _minutes! Ten minutes, Jenna! If you miss this fitting for the magazine cover so help me _God_ I will squander your social life young lady! So you'd better get over to Studio B right _now, _wherever you are." _

The message ended just as the other two men in the backseat started to chuckle, and Jenna felt slightly dizzy with aggravation she could not help but to feel as she closed her eyes, listening as Bane hung up.

"Interesting," he began as he tossed the phone back into the purse. "Your mother causes you so much anger, and yet you do nothing to improve your situation." He continued to stare at her with furrowed brows for a moment longer before he turned his head to glance toward the front of the limo. "Wesson Street and 56th, Barsad," Bane said. "Jenna is due for a fitting," he added in a more amused tone.

Jenna kept her lips pulled tightly together after she had opened her eyes to stare at the floor, and she struggled to keep her body straight as Isaac took a sharp right turn onto 56th Street. Bane turned to glance out of the window behind him, and he watched for a moment as Isaac turned onto Wesson before turning into the immediate parking lot of Studio B.

"Well Jenna, this is where I bid you goodbye," Bane said, nodding at the man next to Jenna, and she let out a breath when she felt the man take the gun back. "From here you are to get me what I need to get into Robert's warehouse, and tonight at precisely twelve A.M, Isaac will be waiting in this limo to bring you to _me_. Failure to comply or speaking of this to anyone will result in the immediate death of your parents, and I can guarantee you... our future visits will not go as well as this one did."

Jenna was staring at him again, desperate to get out of the car, though at the same time she had no idea what she was supposed to do. It was evident to her that even if she did what he told her, he would not be leaving her alone. She said nothing to him, it was not needed, for she and Bane both knew that she would do exactly what he wanted, and she started to turn her body toward the door, only to jump suddenly when Bane reached out to grab her arm, and after her head snapped back in his direction he held it firmly in his hand.

"Don't bother telling your mother you won't be making it for the photo shoot. She seems upset enough already," he said, humor in his voice and evident in his eyes, and Jenna's eyes widened slightly as she stared at him. "Your eyes, by the way, are the most lovely shade of blue I have ever seen. They're almost... aqua," he then complimented in a gentler voice, if that was even possible, and another cold shock ran up her spine as she felt her stomach drop. She could tell Bane was grinning from under his mask, she noticed the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes, and she swallowed as she took her hand back, Bane finally loosening his grip so she could slide it away, another shock running up her spine at the feel of his fingers.

No other words were said as Jenna grabbed her purse and was allowed to step out of the car, and right when the door had closed she immediately started off. She could just _feel_ Bane's heavy eyes staring at her through the window as she headed toward the building, trying to keep her composure, but as soon as she was inside the safety of the building, she finally let her legs go weak, and she stumbled slightly as she started to the counter. The receptionist lady was looking at her with a cocked eyebrow, and once Jenna placed her hands on the counter did she realize they were noticeably shaking. She cleared her throat and quickly took them from the counter and she placed her arms firmly at her sides.

"I have an appointment for a fitting with... Mrs..." she could not remember the designer's name for the life of her, but the receptionist lady rolled her eyes heavily as she reached under the desk for Jenna's pass.

"Your mother is waiting," she said with a sigh, and that was all that needed to be said. Jenna knew this lady didn't enjoy her mother, and she smiled weakly and sympathetically at her as she took the pass. _At least you don't have to live with her..._

"Thank you," Jenna replied, and she turned quickly to start toward the doors to the fitting rooms. But as soon as she was alone, her legs threatened to give out again while her hands continued to shake, until finally she stopped suddenly to lean against the hallway wall. She took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, but as soon as she had all she could see was Bane, and those eyes staring into hers, seeming like he could read everything about her just by looking into them. She opened them suddenly, and while her body emitted signs of fear, her mind was furious. Who was _he_ –who was _anyone– _to make her feel threatened and panicked? Nobody had the right to throw commands at her, and all her life Jenna had never given into any harsh command from anyone. If someone _told_ her 'come to my party tonight', it was usually a no answer, all because she didn't like the way they had asked. However, if it was 'you should, or will you come to my party', that was different, and the answer was usually yes. Her parents gave her nothing but commands; 'Jenna, come here', 'Jenna, we're leaving', 'Jenna, you will help us host this party' 'Jenna, get to your fitting right now'... She shook her head to herself again.

But what was different here? What was it that was making her actually _consider _doing what he had ordered? _"...and I will kill you as I carry out the task myself". _His words repeated themselves over and over in her head, causing her heart to race. She didn't want to die, plain and simple. If Jenna knew anything about her life or future goals, she knew they did not involve death, by any means. If she wasn't to do what he said he would kill her without hesitation. But, on the other hand, even if she did do exactly what he wanted, she _still _would not be rid of him. _"...our first, formal introduction...", "...I can guarantee you... our future visits will not go as well as this one did." _Remembering back on Bane's words, it was painfully evident that he planned on seeing her again, and again, and again. He had her backed into a corner, where one choice of escape was really no better than the other.

She bit her lip as she raised her hand to push it through her hair, her headband going along with it, and she pulled it out from her hair before she tossed it onto the floor in front of her. What was she going to? What Bane required was just a laminated identification card in which her dad kept right on top of his dresser, but Jenna knew that wasn't the problem. Bane had plans that could not start without a first hand pick of the expert weapons her dad manufactured and sold in an underground sort of style while he claimed to be a car dealer. But the weapons job was where they got most of their money from, and her father's weapons were strange, unlike any she had ever seen. These weapons going into the wrong hands would surely lead to great disaster...

_So if that's the case_, Jenna thought to herself now as she let herself slide down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, and she kept her knees bent as she rested her arms on the floor surrounding her. _Won't I die anyway? Won't we all die_? Bane had attempted to blow away an entire city, wouldn't it make sense for him to try again? _He failed though_, Jenna told herself, remembering reading all those news headlines, though never the articles. Bane had failed, and for an entire year he became a strong recluse, and finally, just when the city figured and accepted that he was dead and gone and they were safe, here he was again. Was _that _coincidence, or did he plan for that? Jenna's gut told her to figure the latter, and she did. But since he had failed before, maybe he would fail again?

It was all so confusing, and Jenna could not make sense of things that went beyond her dad's weapons. That was obvious, but after Bane had his ammunition, why did he still want _her_? What use was she to him? She was just the daughter of two wealthy, idiot parents. What made her so special over someone who actually had legitimate skills? Why didn't he go after a detective or con artist?

It wasn't fair. It was like she was being punished for absolutely no reason. There were hundreds of thousands of women in the city who were better than her, and he still chose Jenna over all of them.

"Jenna?"

She turned her head to the right upon hearing her name, and she felt her insides start to rot as her mother stormed over to her.

"Jenna _Marie!" _She scolded. "You are _fifteen minutes _late for your fitting! Mrs. Whitney Claus is _waiting _and you're just sitting in the hallway?!"

Jenna stared at the floor in front of her. _Not now Mom, please not now_, she pleaded to herself in her head, feeling herself about ready to explode with rage as the skies in her world started to crack, threatening to crumble.

"Jenna get _up_," Mia went on as she took another step forward. "You are embarrassing me. You're almost twenty-three years old and you still have the mindset of someone who is twelve. Do you know what _get up_ means?"

_That's it_. "_Fuck _you, Mom," Jenna started as she quickly stood up, grabbing her purse as she did so, and her mother's eyes went slightly wide before they narrowed on her again, and she reached out to grab Jenna's wrist, only to grow more frustrated with her daughter when she shook her hand off. Jenna turned to her with wide, angry eyes. "I don't act like a twelve year old, and if you imply that I'm stupid _one _more time, then I swear to fucking _God, _Mom..." she shook her head, unsure of _what _she'd do. "Screw this fitting, and screw Whitney Claus. I'm out of here." She turned swiftly on her heel and began to march down the hall, pulling out her pass card from her pocket to throw it on the ground as she did.

"Jenna_... Jenna!_" Her mother continued to call, but she ignored her. She knew her mother was not about to chase after her, so she kept on until she had stormed past the receptionist and out of the doors, only to halt suddenly once they closed behind her. Her heart began to race, but she calmed down immediately when she saw that no black stretch limos were anywhere in sight. She started to walk away from the building again as she headed toward the street, deciding she would take a taxi home. Her heart was still racing over her words to her mother, but Jenna did not regret them. Normally, she tuned her mother out or just did what she _asked_, not commanded, and she had only ever yelled at her like that one or two other times. But her situation right now had her feeling unstable. Part of her was scared, and the majority of her was angry. Her mother pushing her buttons at a time like this was not what she needed. But as she walked along the sidewalk, trying to grab a taxi, she let the issue fade away, knowing she had more important things to be worrying about...

* * *

**Would just like to say thank you for the alerts, favorites and reviews guys! You all are awesome! So keep up that awesome title and keep 'em coming! (I told you things would get to a fast start... ;D )  
**


	4. The Taking

Jenna spent the rest of the day shut up and locked in her room. She had drawn her curtains back together, and she laid in her bed, music playing through the speakers on her laptop while she stared blankly up at the ceiling, just thinking about the morning's events. She forced herself to keep her eyes open the majority of the time, for every time she closed them all she could picture were Bane's eyes staring at her, and she constantly thought back the light gray color they had proved themselves to be when the sun shone onto them. Even still when she thought of it shocks ran up her spine, and only caused her to get more angry.

It wasn't until her father arrived home at nine o' clock did she finally venture downstairs upon hearing the garage door open and close. Her mother had shut herself away in her room while Jenna had been in hers, and she remained in her bedroom as Jenna entered their large kitchen while her father heated up some left over food from the charity event in the microwave.

"Hey, Dad," Jenna greeted as she slowly stepped up to the island counter, and she placed her arms on it as she leaned over.

"Hello, Jenna," he greeted, his voice low and monotone, as normal, but she could easily hear the slightly upset tone that it carried.

"How was your day?" She went on to ask, trying to sound casual. Her voice still shook, and she could hear the nervousness and anger laced throughout it, but she knew her father was too one-dimensional to notice.

"Fine." His answer was simple as the microwaved beeped, signaling the food was ready, and he opened it to immediately take the plate out.

"So, I have a question," she began slowly. "The key to get into the weapons warehouse is just your ID card, right?"

"Yes," Robert answered as he grabbed a fork from the light brown drawer underneath the microwave.

"And, it's build underneath the dealership on 3rd and Main, right?"

"Yes, Jenna, you know this. Why are you asking?"

"I don't know," she lied as she glanced down to her hands as she intertwined her fingers together, and she stared at the black nail polish on her fingernails. She was about to drop the subject, but as Bane barged into her thoughts again, she thinned her lips as she asked another question."Are you ever worried that someone could... you know... get in there and steal stuff?"

"Never," her father replied. "Do these questions have a purpose, Jenna?"

"No," she lied again as she raised her eyes back up to look at her father.

"Then let's drop the subject. I want to talk to you about something," he went on, taking a bite and chewing it quickly before he went on, and as he spoke he still didn't bother to look at her. "Your mother told me what happened today, and I don't appreciate what you said to her, or the tone in which you said it."

Jenna let out a sigh from her nose as her face fell into a frown. _This is _not _what's important __Dad..._

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Jenna rolled her eyes as she leaned away from the counter. "It's been a bad day, Dad," she started to explain, though she knew she could not go on further. Robert shook his head.

"That does not matter, Jenna. She is your mother, and you will speak to her and treat her with respect. You're twenty three years old, Jenna, you should know that by now. She was just excited for you to be on the cover of a magazine, and now she has to reschedule the fitting and push back the date of the shoot."

Jenna's lips thinned again as she stared at the corner of the counter. She felt angry, though even more so pathetic. She _hated _when her parents used her age against her. They knew that she was still living the life of a teenager, all because she chose to live at home still, and they used that against her. At the same time, however, Jenna was not sorry for how she had spoken to her mother or what she had said, and she knew what was coming next.

"You need to apologize to her, then call the agency, apologize, and ask if they can schedule the re-fitting and shoot for an earlier time. Otherwise we are putting the magazine editors and publishers in a bad place with having to make them rush, and that's rude and inconsiderate."

Jenna looked up at him now."Did you ever think that I don't _want _to be on the cover of anything, Dad? Or in an public picture at all, for that matter?"

"That's irrelevant, Jenna," Robert said, his eyes still firmly fixed on his plate as he stabbed his fork through the food on it. He wouldn't even _look _at her when they spoke. It wasn't like he usually did, anyway. She shook her head as she glanced back down."Not only has it already been arranged-"

Jenna's head shot up again to look at her father. "Yeah, by _Mom-_"

"Jenna Marie," Robert went on. "I am _speaking_. Wait your turn. We have an image to maintain. Someday you are going to inherit everything I have worked hard for, and Gotham needs to know that you are worthy and capable. You need to prove it to me, too."

Jenna felt her face flush in frustration as she lowered her gaze to glare at the granite counter top in front of her. Wait your turn? _Just like a child_, Jenna thought to herself. She shook her head as she backed away from the counter, and she turned to start out of the kitchen, wondering why she had even bothered with talking to him in the first place.

"Jenna, I mean it," Robert went on as he finally glanced up to look at Jenna's back as she continued walking. "Apologize to your mother, and then call tomorrow. This is embarrassing for _all_ of us."

"Fine," Jenna replied as she pushed open the swinging doors of the kitchen, though this was a lie. She was not going to apologize, for anything, and she most certainly was not going to reschedule the stupid photo shoot for an earlier time. Her parents didn't care about how she felt about anything or what was going on in her life, but God forbid they got _embarrassed _for no reason, the world came to an end. Jenna's lips were still thinned as she walked steadily back up to her room, trying to keep her anger under control, but as soon as she reached her room and shut her door she picked up a pillow from the foot of her bed and threw it at the wall.

–

As midnight drew near, Jenna changed her clothes, putting on a black tank top and a pair of red, tight, jean-like pants, and she quietly opened her door to stealthily move down the hallway toward her parents room. Their door was open as they slept, like always, and as she slowly crept into the room she could tell they had entered a deep sleep, for her father snored lightly and soundly while her mother made no noise at all. As she headed toward the dresser, her eyes already adjusted to the dark while the moonlight shining through the window aided her, she wished there was some way she could get out of this whole mess. She considered hiding at Rodger's, but it wouldn't be fair to put him in immediate danger like that, but because he was out of the question she had nowhere else to go. Bane had eyes all over the city, she knew, and she was positive that would never work. As she took the ID card now, she thought back to the questions she had been asking her father, hoping to have been able to hint at the situation, or that the randomness of them would help to concern him and make him call someone to double their security efforts at the warehouse. But his ID card was placed carelessly on top of the wide dresser, as normal, and she knew her efforts had been useless. It wasn't like she could tell him _why_ he should be worried. He'd never believe her, and he wouldn't want to hear it. He simply didn't care.

But her efforts to try and protect the warehouse made her wonder if there was anyway she could protect _herself_. She paused as she tucked the ID card into her front pocket, and she turned toward the door of her parents long, walk-in closet, which contained not only their clothes and her mother's large abundance of shoes, but also the safe which held their own guns. But would it work? Was she actually capable of holding a gun on Bane in hopes that it would threaten him to back off? If not, would she have the backbone to actually pull the trigger? She pictured the scenario in her mind and reminded herself of how angry and nervous she felt, and she decided that yes, she would. She sucked in a breath as she crossed the room to gently open the door, and through the dark and moonlight that shone dimly into the closet, she made her way over to the large safe. Her parents weren't aware of it, but she knew the combination, and she turned the dial quickly before she gently opened the door, her eyes wandering over her choices. She went with the smaller pistol her dad owned, and after she picked it up, knowing already that it was loaded and ready to go, she quietly closed the safe door, then the closet door, and headed back to her room to hide the gun away in her purse.

There was a slight breeze as Jenna made her way down the driveway, her heart racing, and once the limo waiting on the other side of the gates came into view, Isaac stepped out of it to round the front of the vehicle as Jenna walked past the gate and toward the actual, slightly smaller fence. Isaac paused as he held the door open, watching as Jenna fixed her purse on her shoulder before she grabbed the middle bar of the fence to pull herself up before she stepped into the middle bar to swing her leg around the top, effortlessly. The process took her less than ten seconds, and she noticed how Isaac was staring at her from the corner of her eye as he held the door open. This time around, he was not wearing a suit or a silly hat, and instead he was clad in dark green cargo pants and a light brown shirt underneath his light jacket. She didn't bother looking at him as she got into the car, and she took in a deep breath after Isaac closed the door to round the car again. He glanced at her through the mirror, and Jenna glanced over to him as he spoke.

"I can assume you won't try anything stupid, right?" He asked, and Jenna glared into his eyes through the mirror.

"I don't know," she back firmly. "Define stupid."

Isaac grinned as a laugh escaped past him, and he shook his head as he put the limo into gear to start away from her house.

The further into town they drove, the more Jenna began to feel nervous, much to her dismay. She couldn't help it. She was still stuck in that corner. If she didn't pull out the gun, then Bane would still go after her. But if she did, and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this before, the backup that seemed to follow him around would surely have guns to hold on _her_, if Bane didn't have one himself, and it was very likely that _she _could end up dying right next to him. Either way, Bane ended up winning, and now she second guessed using it at all. But even then, what if one of the men _found _it. She knew that would be just as bad as her actually using it, for it showed her intentions.

But by the time Isaac had pulled the car into a secluded, dark alleyway, the moon light barely reaching the ground inside it, her eyes fell on Bane and three other men standing randomly around him through the wind shield. His thick arms were crossed in front of his chest, over his vest, and his feet were spread apart slightly as he stared at the vehicle. Isaac parked the car right next to them, Bane on on the left side of the car, opposite of Jenna, and after Isaac turned the car off and started around to open her door she scooted over to the other side quickly, pulling out the gun from her purse before she hung it over her shoulder, and just as Isaac opened the door she shoved open the opposite one, and swiftly stepped out of the car. She immediately raised her arms to point the gun at Bane's head, her purse falling down her arm, and she felt her heart skip a beat as the three surrounding men quickly did the same to her. She glanced around with only her eyes, able to see the shiny metal of the artillery that was pointed directly at her, their fingers on the triggers, and when she glanced back at Bane she noticed that he had slightly raised his hands in false, humorous defense. He let out a laugh a second later, genuinely amused and even slightly impressed with her unexpected action, and he watched as Jenna fixed her hold on the gun as she kept firm eye contact with him through the dark. Isaac had quickly rounded the car to stand behind it, and he had pulled out his gun, the largest out of all them, and he cocked it quickly before he pointed it at her.

"Lower your weapons," Bane commanded, the sound of his voice sending chills through Jenna. "We have nothing to worry about here."

"But boss-" one of the henchmen began, and Bane instantly looked over to a man who was standing to the left of Jenna, and Bane's eyes widened slightly, his glare fierce. Jenna kept her glare focused on Bane, though from the corner of her eye she noticed the man who had spoke up cower down a little bit, though he still stayed attentive.

"I said to _lower _them," Bane repeated, speaking mainly to him before he turned to look back at Jenna, his hands still held up. "She won't shoot."

Jenna continued to glare, and a snarl came onto her lips as her anger took over, and she cocked the gun, making everyone readjust their hold on the weapons. Bane tilted his head back in slight frustration as he lowered his hands, and he let out a loud, prolonged sigh.

"This situation is turning out to be more complicated than it needs to be," he said as he lowered his head again, and he took a step toward Jenna. Her hands began to shake slightly as she took a step back.

"I'll shoot you, I swear," she said as he took another step closer to her.

"And my men will shoot you in return. You came here tonight because my death threats got to you. Sure you'll be rid of me, but not without a cost... Is death really worth it to you, Jenna?" He asked, though he still had nothing but intentions of killing her away. He grinned as he observed her backing down a bit, her hold on her gun loosening slightly, and it seemed at that second, as Jenna wrongly re-evaluated the situation, several things happened at once.

Bane took a large and fast step toward her, and before she had time to react he placed his palm against the side of the gun and pushed it toward the brick wall to her left as one of his henchman stepped out of the way. Jenna grunted as her hand that held the gun hit the wall, and Bane held it there with crushing force as he stepped to the side to grab her other arm with his left hand, and he bent it behind her back before he pushed her even further into the wall. Jenna let out a sharp breath as her head began to spin, her arm starting to throb with intense pain, but much to Bane's surprise she still did not scream. She struggled against him as he pressed his body against hers, but he knew she would not be going anywhere, and he grinned.

"Barsad," he said simply as he turned his head slightly to glance at Isaac from the corner of his eye, and understanding what he wanted, Isaac lowered his gun and stepped up to him. He reached out for Jenna's gun, sliding it easily out her hand, and stepped back to give them some room. "Thank you," Bane said as he lowered his hand to grab her wrist, and he lifted it up slightly before he slammed her hand back against the wall, his way of silently commanding Jenna to keep her hand there. And she did once he let go, and she closed her eyes as she swallowed when she felt his hand roam over the pocket of her pants. He found what he was looking for, and he reached in to pull out her father's ID card. He glanced over it, checking the date, and after he turned it over to confirm that it was indeed the real card, he tucked it into his own cargo pant's pocket before he stepped away from Jenna to pull her by her bent arm away from the wall. "Let's go," he said now in a more cheery voice, and Jenna's stomach dropped as her eyes went wide.

"_What!_" She squealed, flinching at the strain on her arm as Bane spun her around before he started to walk her further down the alley, her purse still dangling on her free arm. "No!" She went on, trying to keep herself from walking while she also struggled to look up at the man who towered above her. "I did what you wanted! You said you'd let me go!"

Bane remained silent as he pushed her along to his own mode of transportation, knowing very well that he had never said anything of the sort. There would be no future meetings with Jenna, because he was going to kill her tonight. He had only said that to pressure her even more into doing what he asked. If she refused, on one hand he had offered her death, and on the other a constant feeling of anxiety as she waited to be taken unexpectedly again. While he couldn't help but to admire Jenna's fight and determination, he knew all along she would do what he asked. She was weak in the sense that she didn't know what she truly wanted out of anything, or from anyone.

Jenna grew quiet, the strain on her arm making it near impossible to talk anyway as it seemed to sting her whole body, and her heart continued to race as the site of a large square-looking truck came into view at the very back end of the two-mouthed alley. Once they approached the large and lifted black truck, Bane reached around her to open the back door, and Jenna let out a loud gasp as he lifted her entire body by her bent arm to force her into the truck. Once she was in he _finally _let go of her arm to climb in himself while Isaac went around to the driver side, and as Jenna sat down she bit her lip while she unbent her arm from behind her body, the muscles sore and biting with pain as she stretched it in front of her.

The large square area of the vehicle consisted of a large bench seat in the very back of the truck, facing forward, while directly across from it was a similar bench seat that faced the rear of the vehicle, while touching behind it was another back seat that faced the front. Two of Bane's men sat there while Isaac and the other sat up front, and Jenna stared out of the ridiculously dark tinted windows as Isaac backed quickly out from the alley before he jerked the car around to speed down the road into the unknown...

–

The car ride had been deathly silent. Jenna sat alone on the seat that faced the rear of the truck, her purse still attached to her arm, while Bane sat across from her, his left arm rested on his leg while the other rested along the top of the seat, and he stared out of the window as well during the entire ride. Jenna found herself staring at him more often that not, her mind full of questions, but also worry. Where were they going, and what was going to happen once they got there? She was positive Bane had said, or implied, that she would be free to go after delivering him the ID. But what had changed that? Was it her antics with the gun? Or worse, had this always been planned?

Jenna swallowed again as she looked away from Bane to stare out of the window as they entered the lower outskirts of Midtown Gotham, an area she did not recognize, and after a twenty minute drive Isaac was pulling into an abandoned parking lot and swinging the truck around the back of the large building that overlooked the Gotham River. Jenna turned her head to look out of the opposite window at the river before she turned to look back up at the building Isaac had stopped next to, but before she knew it Bane was pushing open the door and grabbing her wrist to pull her out of the truck along with him. He pushed her in front of him as Isaac and the others started toward the lone black door located on a small concrete foundation four steps up from the ground, a bright orange light hanging above it, and it surprised her when Bane let go of her wrist before he pushed her forward, allowing her to walk for herself behind the men. Isaac held the door open, and he grinned slyly at Jenna before he nodded back at Bane with that same grin, and once everyone was inside he finally stepped in himself and let the door shut before he turned to lock it.

The building was dark and empty, and Jenna could barely see where she was going as she waited for her eyes to adjust. She could feel Bane walking directly behind her, his footsteps loud and heavy as she struggled to follow the three other men, and she couldn't help but to grow a little more nervous after rounding the corner, where a large concrete staircase came into view. The men instantly started down it, but Jenna paused at the top, lingering there as she started down into the darkness, only for Bane to suddenly push her forward slightly. She bit down fiercely on her lip in anger and nervousness as she started down them, Isaac moving past them quickly as he continued the descent, and Jenna followed him down the rest of the stairs until they were in the basement of the large, abandoned building, and suddenly things came into light.

It could only be described as being a huge, secret, underground lair. With concrete floors and a wide, open space down below, where scattered objects lay and rusted metal bars rose up to the ceiling and dimmed lights up ahead, Jenna's eyes moved around the area quickly, noticing finally all the other henchman who were littered around. Once they reached the last step, Bane reached out to wrap his fingers around the back of her neck, causing Jenna to jump, and he guided her in a new direction. He turned around a corner and headed toward the door of his room, only to head to the left of it into a smaller room in the corner of the large lair. He pushed Jenna through the doorway, and as she stared at the various chairs and other storage objects that were shoved into the room, he forced her down in one of the old chairs by her neck, and he pushed his hand down on it before he let go to walk around her. Jenna's lips remained thinned as she reached her hand up to the back of her pained neck, her purse sliding off of her arm and onto the floor, and she kept her eyes planted on Bane as he walked a few more feet away from her before he slowly turned around, her father's ID card in his hand again. Isaac leaned comfortably against the wall with his right foot placed against it and his arms crossed loosely in front of him, his own eyes on Jenna as she watched Bane. Finally, he tore his eyes away from the ID card to look at Jenna, and he took a step forward.

"3rd and Main," Bane began now as Jenna's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "That's where this warehouse is, correct?"

Jenna continued to stare at him before she nodded slowly. She was about to speak again, but her phone buzzing faintly in her purse on the ground in the quiet room instantly stole everyone's attention, and she felt her stomach drop as Bane stepped forward to slowly reach down to grab it. Jenna stared at him with glaring eyes, knowing what his next move would be as he looked at the caller ID, and she knew the only thing that could make this situation worse was her parents, which she was sure is who was calling her.

"Looks like it's your mother," Bane said in a higher toned voice as he stepped forward. "The name on the caller ID reads "The Bitch". Let's see what she has to say about your... sudden disappearance." Jenna continued to glare at him, and it was evident to her without him having to say anything she was not to express anything about her location and situation. Even if she wanted to, it would prove to be useless anyway. Bane held the phone in front of her once he pressed the green answer button, the device already on speaker, and Mia's tired and angry voice instantly filled the room.

_"Jenna Marie! Where are you? It is almost one in the morning!"_

Jenna sighed as she closed her eyes while glancing down slightly. "I'm at Rodgers," she lied smoothly in a low, annoyed voice.

_"Rodgers?"_ Her mother repeated loudly, and she heard her father mumble something tiredly in the background. _"Why on Earth would you go to Rodgers at this hour?"_

"Couldn't sleep," Jenna lied again, not noticing the way Bane raised his eyebrows.

_"And what makes you think you're not bothering Rodger's parents by just barging in over there?" _

Jenna glanced up the phone, her brows furrowing as her frustration grew. It was always about the parents. Bane, as he watched her, could not help but to grow amused at the way Jenna got angry at her mother accusing her of something she was not even really doing. "We're not," Jenna said. "I have to go."

_"Jenna you get back to this house right now,"_ Mia ordered sternly. Bane continued to hold the phone out to her as her mother went off with more commands, and a moment after she had stopped talking, waiting for her daughter's response, he saw that Jenna was through talking with her, and he hung up the phone before dropping it back onto her purse. Jenna kept her arms folded on her lap as she stared sternly at the ground, while Bane kept his eyes on her.

"You are truly hard to understand," Bane began now as he tilted his head to the side slightly, his eyes still planted on her face, and he grinned from under his mask as he shook his head. "You do not bother telling your mother of your whereabouts or your situation, and _regardless _of that situation, you still let yourself get angered by her. Aren't the circumstances your facing now a little more consuming than getting angry at something that is... _pretend_? I find it confusing; Barsad, are _you_ confused?" Bane asked now as he turned to glance at Isaac, and he grinned wickedly when Jenna lifted her head to look over at him.

"Indubitably," Isaac responded simply in a cheery tone of voice.

"_Indubitably!_" Bane repeated loudly as he turned back to Jenna. "In the mere seconds you have left of your life, would you like to explain why that is?" He paused for a moment, his eyes locking with hers, and he found it incredible how brightly the aqua color of them seemed to glow, even in the dim light of the concrete room.

A look of panic instantly overcame Jenna's face, and her jaw dropped at his words. "What?" She asked now. "No. _No_!" She immediately began to lift herself from her chair, only for Bane to step forward and force her back down with his hands pressing down on her tiny shoulders.

"Oh yes," he answered loudly as he circled around her, never taking his hands off from her shoulders. "I needed you for only one thing. Now that it's complete, Gotham can watch as your parent's world crumbles upon learning of your death. The family who is to save the fate of Gotham will perish, as well their efforts to help rebuild the city. Taking your family out of the equation is the first step, Jenna, as well as it being an enjoyable experience for me." He slid his hands up her neck before he placed them firmly on either side of her head, and her body stiffened as her eyes went wide, though in her mind she couldn't help but to tell herself over and over that he wasn't going to do it. He was lying to her again, just like he had in the car when he mentioned their meetings for the future. He was trying to scare her, and unfortunately, it was working. "Is there anything else you'd like to say?" He asked as he curled his fingers back toward his palm, but he stopped suddenly, his body freezing at the feel of her smooth skin. Jenna had frozen too, a shock running up her spine at the feel of Bane's large fingers running gently against the sides of her face, and her lips parted as her eyes closed tightly when she felt Bane stretch out his fingers again before holding her head in his hands more firmly, and just as she anticipated for him to make his move, she suddenly spoke up.

"Wait!" She gasped, her eyes still clenched shut. "Please, don't kill me," she said now as she opened her eyes, Bane staring down at her with curious eyes of his own, and when Jenna felt his hold on her head loosen ever so slightly, she continued talking without thinking anything that she was saying through. "Go after my family, take what you want, kill my parents, destroy Gotham, I don't care! Just _please_... don't..." She breathed heavily as her heart raced, and as she swallowed she let her eyes close again.

Bane's eyes narrowed her as he lowered his gaze slightly, and his hands continued to linger on her head. "How fascinating..." Bane began in a tone that sounded incredibly thoughtful, and she opened her eyes to stare at the wall ahead of her, her lips still parted as her heart pounded against her chest. "You would sacrifice your own _parents_ in order selfishly save yourself? What do you think you have to live for?"

Jenna frowned as she lowered her gaze, and she swallowed when she realized she could not answer that question. What did she have to live for? She was a twenty-three year old _adult _who had not bothered going to college to better herself, and instead stayed under her parents roof and control. Even if Bane decided not to kill her, what would happen then? Where would she go? How severely would her life change if her parents were to be killed?

Unbeknownst to her, Bane was weighing his options heavily as he idly kept his hands planted on her head. Her situation with her parents was slightly confusing, but he knew that they had a firm hold on Jenna due to her dependency on them. But for her to so willingly and openly plead him to kill her parents in order to save herself, was something he had never anticipated for her to say. In his eyes, it almost made it worth it to keep her alive, not because of her fear of dying, but more so because of her _determination_ to live. But something was still holding him back. If he was to keep her alive, then what would he do with her? What was she capable of? Sure she was a pretty acceptable liar, and it appeared as though she knew her way around a simple gun, but would that be good enough or prove usable to him, especially when he already had his own team put together to handle that matters of the sort? It seemed as though she had a good sense of control over herself, for while in the limo with her earlier that day, Bane could easily see the fear that consumed her eyes though she had been excellent at keeping herself calm and appearing angry.

His eyes rolled away from the sight of her bright red hair to stare at the floor, and shocks continued to run up and down Jenna's spine as the sound of his breathing entered her ears. Isaac remained silent as he stayed leaning against the wall, growing a little confused as the situation unfolded, while Bane continued to muse over the idea. He _could _kill her parents instead. It would stop the large, free cash flow into the city more instantly than waiting for it to happen as they grieved over the loss of their daughter. Sure, this hadn't been his original plan, but suddenly, the idea didn't seem so bad after all...

"If I... spare you," Bane began as he glanced back down at the top of Jenna's head. "Then you are to accompany me to your parents death." Jenna's heart skipped a beat at this before it began to race faster immediately after, and Bane could sense her hesitation. "Is it still... worth it to you under these circumstances?"

The room continued to spin as Jenna thought this over, and finally realization over what she had said began to come to her. Her eyebrows furrowed as she lowered her gaze to stare at the floor, and she felt her throat start to swell up as she tried to picture her parent's death. Sure she hated them, but did she really hate them enough to want –and witness– death upon them? To be honest, the thought was somewhat frightening to her. She had always wanted to move away to get away from them, not kill them so she could stay in the same place.

But she could not shake off the desire to live herself. She had just _barely _escaped her fate of dying, right there in that chair, though she could not help but to feel like she wasn't completely off the hook yet. Bane would only spare her under one circumstance... but even if she was spared, what would happen after? Sure she'd be alive, but she wondered if she might as well consider herself dead anyway. If she lived, she would be Bane's prisoner, where it was very possible she'd never see the light of day again while she remained trapped down in that basement.

But what was she to do? Was real death better than symbolic death? Perhaps there would still be hope... hope that, if she was to agree to Bane's terms, that she could still find a way out. She was smart, and she had seen how easy it would be to sneak up those stairs and exit out of one of the doors on the main level. She glanced back up to Bane now, discovering that he still kept a firm glare on her, and when her eyes met his, Bane had his answer.

"It's arranged then," he said. "Tomorrow Mr. and Mrs. Silvera will be no more." As Jenna's jaw dropped Bane started toward the door without another word or glance, and after Isaac had exited the room, Bane stepped out, carelessly reaching for the door, and he pulled it closed behind him. Jenna kept her head turned as she stared at the door, and once she heard Bane and Isaac's footsteps fade away in the distance, she finally let out a sigh as she turned her head to face the wall in front of her. Had just a simple look on her face really gave her answer away? Her mind was saying no, but apparently her body language was saying otherwise.

Her legs feeling weak, she finally rose from the chair, only to jump slightly when she heard the door open. Her head snapped over in its direction, but she felt herself calm down some as she watched Isaac step into the room, truthfully glad it was not Bane. He smirked at her as he made his way toward her, Jenna watching his every move as she held her ground by the chair, and finally as Isaac tore his gaze away from her once he approached her, he leaned down to pick up her purse.

"Wait," Jenna spoke out suddenly as he started back for the door, and he paused, turning to look over his shoulder at her. "Can I at least have my cigarettes?"

Isaac grinned again, letting out a short laugh as she shook his head, though he turned around as he reached into the purse to draw out her pack of Camels, and he tossed it at her. "You're either really smart," he started, referring to the fact that she hadn't been instantly jumping at the fact to get on her phone once they left her. "Or incredibly stupid," he added. Jenna glared at him after she had glanced down at the pack she caught in her hands, and her brows furrowed again as Isaac turned to start for the door.

"Wait, I need a lighter," she added. Isaac smirked at her again once he turned around to begin closing the door, and he shrugged carelessly.

"You never asked for that," he responded, and without another word he closed the door. Jenna's jaw dropped slightly as she stared at the closed door, and as she shook her head she threw the pack onto the ground, crossing her arms after she turned away from the door. _Fucking asshole_, she thought to herself. If there would have been _one_ thing that would have made this situation see just a little bit of light, it would have been a cigarette.

–

Sometime after spending another hour just pacing around the room, thinking over her situation, Jenna had grown incredibly tired, and she couldn't remember when she had finally laid down in the far corner of the room to try and get some sleep. The concrete floor was dirty and cold, but Jenna had paid no attention to this as she laid her head on the ground, facing the wall, and she closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

Dreams of Bane and murder haunted her mind, and they caused her to wake up seemingly every five minutes. But much to her dismay, the same dreams always picked up right where they had left off, and when she was suddenly awoken a few hours later, she felt more exhausted then ever before.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she was instantly awoken when she heard the door to the small room squeak open. She let out a sigh as she stretched her legs back, her groggy mind not allowing her to process much, and she raised up her head slightly to glance over shoulder. She watched as the silhouette of a man stepped into the room, and just as she figured out it was not Bane or Isaac, the intentions of _this _man even more unknown, her heart began to race as she forced herself to sit up just as the man closed the door, the room instantly getting doused in pitch black darkness. She dizzily stood up, placing her hand on the wall for support as she listened to the man draw near, but just before she could make sense of what was going on, the man reached out, clutching his fingers tightly around Jenna's arm, and she heard what sounded like a knife being flicked out.

"Rumor is you don't scream," the man said quietly through the dark, his voice scratchy and rough, and Jenna's eyes widened as she tried to free her arm from his grasp. But the man laughed as he clutched it tighter before pulling her closer to him, and she jumped when she felt the tip of his knife touch the middle of her stomach through her shirt. "That's good," he went on. "That means there's nothing stopping me from doing _this._" Knife still clutched in his hand, he tightened his grip on the handle, and panic instantly hit an all time high in Jenna when she felt him push the knife further into the skin on her stomach. She struggled against him now, twisting her body in awkward angles as she moved against the wall, trying to get out his grasp, and just as she wondered if screaming in this situation would be acceptable, her flailing limps caused the stack of chairs to fall over and crash onto the floor. The man tightened his hold on her and leaned his body against hers, pushing her and holding her against the wall, and just when his knife had slit horizontally through half of her shirt, she brought her knee up to make impact with his groin.

He grunted as he stumbled back, his knife falling to the floor, and right when he took his hands off of her Jenna pushed herself off of the wall, jumped over a fallen chair and ran right toward the door, deciding now was the time take her chances with getting out of there. Her heart continued to race in panic and confusion, but right when she had reached the door it barged open suddenly, and she jumped back, the dim lights up ahead practically blinding as Isaac turned them on, and his eyes fell down to Jenna and her torn shirt before he lifted them to glare at the man that was picking up his knife from the ground. Isaac finally figured out what must have been going on, and he closed the door behind him before he moved past Jenna quickly, his shoulder knocking her out of the way. She turned her body, shocked to see that the man had been making his way toward again, and she flinched, taking a step back when Isaac suddenly grabbed the man's shirt and pushed him against the wall before he took the knife from the man's hand to fold it and put it in his pocket.

"The _fuck _are you doing?" Isaac began as he tightened his hold on the man's shirt while he struggled to free himself, but once he finally tore his eyes away from Jenna he stopped suddenly and glared at Isaac.

"Man she's supposed to be _dead_. _That _was the plan."

"Yeah, and?" Isaac went on, the situation only getting more confusing to Jenna as it went on, and she took another step back, wishing her heart would stop racing. Now would have been the time to run out of that room and take her chances, but Isaac's actions had thrown her completely off guard, and suddenly she had a hard time taking her eyes off of him and the man.

"She's not!" The man spat his response.

"That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to you, to me, or to the crew. Bane's orders are to be obeyed, _regardless _of what they are," Isaac replied sternly. "Your belligerence, Zack, has always been your problem, and now if Bane doesn't kill you for this himself, then _I _will."

"Man why would you do that!?" The man known as Zack now yelled as he tried to free himself again. "You're such a fucking kiss ass, Isaac. You're protecting her! Bane doesn't care!"

"I'm following Bane's orders," Isaac stated. "He wants her alive for now, so she'll _stay _alive."

Zack continued to glare into Isaac's eyes, and once Isaac took a step back, pulling Zack with him, he pushed him toward the door. Zack took another glance in Jenna's direction before he stormed out of the door, and Isaac noticed the way Jenna flinched once it slammed shut. He kept his gaze focused on her, noticing how her arms were crossed, her knees locked, and her head bowed, and she looked up from the ground as Isaac slowly started over to her.

"Your tough girl act is just that, you know," he said once he approached her, and she watched as he reached into his shirt pocket to draw out a small black lighter. "An _act_." He tossed the lighter at her, and she caught it in both of her hands, glancing at it before she looked back up to him. "_Acting_ tough around here won't save your life, but _being _tough will."

Jenna narrowed her eyes on him. "I'm _not _'acting' tough. I'm stuck in this stupid room without any sort of protection," she argued. "That fucker just randomly _came_ in here! What was I-"

"You make use of what you have," Isaac replied, reaching into his pocket again, and Jenna grew shocked when he tossed her the knife the man had been using. "I can't guarantee that won't happen again, and it's not my job to _protect _you. Your presence here is angering everyone, and apparently the anger is strong enough to make them want to disobey Bane's orders. And they might... again. They'll die for it, but I guess they still just don't understand how it works around here. I have more important things to do than guard the door, so use that as you see fit. You may not be tough, but I can image you have enough common sense to know when it's appropriate to use."

He turned away from her finally and started toward the door, and as Jenna glanced down to the lighter and knife in her hands she grew even more confused than ever. "Why are you doing this?" She asked finally right when he opened the door. But his only reply to this was a small grin that appeared on his face, and without a word he closed the door behind him. Jenna stared at the door for a minute before she tucked the knife in her pocket, and she stepped over to her cigarette pack on the floor to hungrily pick it up and light one up. As she exhaled, she slid down the wall in the same corner she had been sleeping in as she mused over Isaac's words. _Acting tough around here won't save your life, but being tough will. _Why would he say that to her? It was apparent he was all about following Bane's orders, but regardless of what he had said to her, in a way he _was _protecting her. Why else would he give her that knife? Sure Bane's orders would have been disobeyed if she was to be killed, but the situation would not be his fault, and he'd get to live.

Jenna's life had always been annoying, but never so backwards and confusing. Was tonight a taste of what was to come? A constant battle every minute of her life as she struggled to hold on to it? She shook her head as she took another long drag of her cigarette. Was her life actually worth battling for like that?

Perhaps it would not be as terrible as she was thinking. It was evident to her that Bane wanted her family wiped out, but the only source of power from them came from her parents. Jenna didn't participate in anything they were passionate about. Therefore, it made sense that he would let her go, right? He'd leave her at home to deal with her loss, and he'd laugh at her as she came to terms with suddenly having _nothing. That's fine_, Jenna told herself. It would, after all, be better than having to fend for herself _here_.

She was still unaware of what time it was, or when she would have to wake again to be forced into witnessing her parent's death over her words to save herself, and whether they had been foolish and regrettable words or not, she still felt her stomach clench and twist at the thought. She ran her hand over the knife Isaac had bestowed to her in her pocket, and she swallowed, wishing that the day and night's events could have turned out differently.

**Loving the reviews, alerts and favorites guys, thank you!  
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	5. Look Into My Eyes

Sometime around three in the morning, Bane had heard the commotion erupting from the room in which he had kept Jenna, but he had done nothing about it, and instead continued laying in his bed. The large stack of chairs crashing to the floor had interrupted his thought process that had already been going on for hours, but after he heard Isaac go in there and one of his newest recruits, Zack, yell at him over Jenna's state of still being alive, all had gone silent, and Isaac never bothered to inform Bane of the situation. This only led him to believe that the situation had been of no importance, and he was right.

The majority of the night, Bane analyzed and re-analyzed how that night had gone with Jenna. It was supposed to have been so easy: he would have killed Jenna, placed her body on a public display of some sorts for the entire city to see, and sat back for a while as her parents grieved, a type of pain Bane _always _enjoyed inflicting on people. Although now Bane wouldn't have to wait as long to put his plans into action, and though he would still have _someone_ grieving in pain, Jenna was still alive. What was difficult to process was the fact that not just _one _thing had gone wrong about wanting to kill her, but rather many.

First problem was how much he admired her fight and determination. Rather than exuding her fear, she put up an angry facade, determined not to let her fear give him, or anyone for that matter, the satisfaction he craved. It was almost as though she knew that was one of the elements he enjoyed the most. Maybe, deep down, she actually_ was_ legitimately angry. She _had _pulled a gun on him. She was determined to save herself, to find a way out of her nasty situation, even when she understood she had no where to go. He couldn't bring himself to come to the conclusion that she only _feared _death. If she did, then killing her would not have been a problem. He had expected her to cry and plead like crazy for her life: "_Please! I'll do anything! Please don't kill me!" _He expected her to cry those cliche' lines, but they never came. She did not cry, not a single tear slid down her cheek, and instead she had held her ground, just sitting there as she waited for death to come. But when she _did_ plead, her words were something Bane never expected to hear from anybody. _"Kill my parents..." _Who in their right mind would _ever _give their killer permission to murder their parents in his or her place? _Jenna would_, Bane answered himself. _Jenna's hatred for her parents is more than skin deep. _She did not fear death. If she did, she would have fought harder to escape. She would not have shown up to give Bane what he wanted, she would have pulled the trigger the second she stepped out of that car, she would have kicked, fought and screamed her way out of that room and toward the stairs to try and run for safety, and finally, she would have tried to sneak out of the room and building after he had left. She did not fear death, she was addicted to the thought of being away from the life she lived now. But did she realize that in order for that to happen, she was only encouraging her current situation? The second problem was that Bane was interested in figuring that out.

The third thing that had gone wrong was just the simple feel of her skin. Sure, she was attractive, Bane would be lying if he denied that, and it was obvious just by looking at her that she would have smooth skin, but touching it was a different thing altogether. He had _never _expected that shock to run up his spine when he so absentmindedly curled his fingers back. He had killed plenty of good-looking women... so why was this one so different? What was even worse was the fact that his mind had gone totally blank when he curled his fingers. It was a feeling that he had never even experienced before, not even with...

He had sat up in his bed by this point, trying to clear his thoughts as he decided he was through with analyzing the situation. After the commotion had dyed down outside of his door, and after he decided that sleep would be a welcome element at this point, he decided that if Jenna was still in that room in the morning, alive, then he would go through with the change of plans.

The sunlight shone down the stairs of the basement and ended just at the foot of them, the lights overhead taking over to illuminate the basement. After Bane had gotten dressed, he ventured out of the room, closing the door behind him, and his eyes searched around the area. Everyone was doing the same thing as usual: the ones who remained in the basement were either cleaning weapons or talking amongst themselves, while the rest were upstairs, watching TV and playing pool or outside smoking cigarettes, no doubt. Isaac had been leaning against the door by Bane's room, and once he stepped out Isaac stepped over to him.

"What happened last night?" Bane asked him slowly as he started toward Jenna's door, Isaac walking directly next to him.

"Zack," Isaac answered. "Got the idea in his mind that since _you _didn't kill the girl, _he _would."

"Did he?"

"No," Isaac answered. "She just about got out of the room, away from him, but I stepped in and handled the situation."

"Where is he _now_?" Bane asked as they continued their walk toward Jenna's door, and right before they had reached it he came to a stop and he turned to Isaac as he did the same.

"Upstairs," Isaac replied.

"Kill him," Bane said simply now as he turned toward Jenna's door.

"Yes, sir," Isaac replied with a grin, and without another word he immediately began toward the stairs.

Bane pushed open the door and snapped the light on, his eyes instantly searching the room for Jenna, and his eyebrows furrowed when he did not see her. He took another step into the room, his eyes narrowing on the odd site of five or six folded chairs placed and leaning against the wall in a long box shape, a folded chair sitting on top as a sort of roof of the structure, and the sound of his boots seemed to echo as he took his time with walking right up to it. Inside of it, he saw long, red hair spilled around on the floor and bright red pants on the opposite side, and a small grin came onto his face as he lifted his foot to gently kick the chair in front, and he watched as the structure crashed down onto Jenna.

She gasped as she immediately pushed the chairs off of her, one of them having hit the side of her head, and she cursed to herself as she stood up quickly, trying to ignore the dizzy feeling that overcame her. A shock ran down her spine, however, as the sound of Bane's laughter filled the room, and she turned to stare at him with squinted, tired eyes, only to grow even more dizzy due to the site of him. A black shirt with sleeves that ended at his mid-forearm covered the upper half of his body, the black material only helping to emphasize and outline the large and thick muscles that lay beneath it, and she swallowed as her eyes quickly roamed down to take in the site of his dark gray cargo pants and black heavy boots underneath. Another dizzy spell washed over her as her eyes found his black shirt again, but she decided to blame this on the headache she was starting to get as she stepped away from the wall and over the chairs to distance herself from him.

"A structure of chairs to assist in protecting you over the night," Bane began in an amused tone of voice as he placed his foot under one of the chairs to flip it over in her direction after he had turned his body to face her. "How was that supposed to work?"

"It would wake me up if someone else tried to come in here," Jenna answered in an annoyed tone of voice. "Which clearly, it works."

Bane let out another laugh, his eyes instantly traveling down her body to take notice of the way her shirt had been ripped at the bottom, exposing her stomach and pierced bellybutton, and he noticed the way the material hung down over her hips. He swallowed as he forced his eyes back up, getting angry over the odd dizzy spell that overcame him now, and he turned around suddenly to start toward the door, trying to ignore it. He paused when he realized Jenna was not behind him, and once he reached the frame of the door, he placed his hand on it and glanced over his shoulder.

"Are you coming, or did you forget all that our deal entailed?"

Jenna stared at him, a large frown on her plump lips, and she swallowed before she nodded slightly.

"Good," Bane said slowly now as he kept his eye contact with her, and without another word he nodded his head toward the open door, signaling she should go through it, and without a word of her own she did as her heart began to race.

The second she stepped out of the door, all the men who had been downstairs instantly turned their heads in her direction, and they glared at her as she headed toward the stairs, only to stop when she reached them as she waited for further direction. She ignored the men as best as she could, keeping her eyes fixed only Bane, though this proved to be a huge mistake as well. She could not stop herself from staring at his body through that tight, black shirt, and another shock ran up her spine when he turned around to grab a set of keys off of the wall, the muscles on his shoulders flexing slightly as he lifted his arm up. Jenna's lips parted as she immediately glanced down to stare at her shoes, positive something was wrong with her for making her have these sick desires to look at him, and she closed her eyes tightly, trying to ignore the stinging on the back of her neck due to the shocks that had been running up her spine. Why the fuck did that keep happening?

Bane walked past her suddenly, but just as he had placed his foot on the first step, a gunshot echoed through the air outside on the main level, and Jenna jumped, her eyes going wide as she idly turned to Bane for an answer as to what had just happened. He glanced down at her, and Jenna knew him to be smiling due to the wrinkles that appeared on either side of his amused eyes.

"Your attacker has just met his fate," Bane explained.

Jenna's eyes narrowed on him before she glanced back down when he started up the stairs, and as she followed him she thought back to Isaac's words. That man had died solely based on the fact that he tried to kill her?

The bright morning light was near blinding as Jenna stepped outside behind Bane, and she felt her stomach clench when the site of Zack laying dead in a pool of his own blood on the concrete ground came into her line of sites just below her. She thinned her lips, noticing all the other old blood stains that covered the ground, and she raised her squinted eyes, looking out past the warehouse's property and the field at the Gotham river that flowed ahead. Bane threw Isaac the keys to his truck once he turned around, and he instantly started down the stairs and around the building while Jenna stepped up to Isaac.

"Did you really kill him just because he tried to attack me?" She asked him in a hushed voice. Isaac glanced down when he heard her voice, and he grew surprised to see that she had actually stepped up to him to ask.

"No," he answered as he started down the stairs, Jenna right behind him. "He died because he disobeyed orders."

Jenna made a confused and slightly disgusted face as she continued to walk beside him. "Does everyone die for doing that?"

"Everyone," Isaac replied. "Bane does not offer second chances."

While Jenna thought over his words, he unlocked his truck, and Jenna watched as Bane opened the door to push forward the passenger seat and climb into the back. As Isaac rounded the truck to climb into the driver's seat, Jenna figured she was to sit in the front, so once she reached the truck she pushed back the front seat and climbed in herself, trying to ignore Bane behind her.

Another truck load of henchmen, who had been informed of their duties the night before, followed behind Isaac as he exited the warehouse property, and Jenna stared ahead out of the windshield as she anticipated what was to come. The silence of the large, lifted pick-up truck only helped her to think more clearly, and she hated it. A few moments later, however, the sound of Isaac lighting a cigarette stole her attention, and she turned her head to look over at him as he set the lighter down on top of his pack of cigarettes.

"Can I have one?" Jenna forced herself to ask him, deciding a cigarette was the only thing at this point that would help to calm her nerves, and Isaac glanced over to her with a grin as he exhaled the smoke in her direction, blowing it directly into her face.

"Don't be like that, Barsad. Give the girl a smoke! She is, after all, on her way to assist in the murder of her parents."

Jenna frowned at Bane's words, but still accepted the cigarette and lighter Isaac handed her. She lit it quickly before she placed the lighter down, and she sank down further into her seat as she took a long second drag, hating the way her hands were starting to shake. From his spot in the middle in the back, Bane had noticed this as well, and he watched as her hands continued to shake while she smoked, her eyes closed all the while. While he couldn't shake off feelings of still wanting to kill her, regardless, he told himself that depending on how this morning's events went and how she behaved would determine if she lived or not. She had to be good for something, and if she wasn't, then he'd most certainly find something. He had never spared a single soul his entire career, so to speak, and Jenna was the first, all because of a gut feeling. But Bane would go with that gut feeling, for it was a feeling he had never experienced before. And if things went wrong, and it turned out _he _had been wrong? Killing her would be a snap... _No pun intended_...

–

Her house already looked empty when Isaac parked along side the gates, but Jenna knew better as she stared up at it past the driveway. The gate keeper was not at work yet, and Jenna swallowed as Isaac started to get out of the truck before she glanced at the clock: _seven fifteen._

She took in a deep breath as she climbed out of the truck, Bane waiting patiently in the back, and once she was out he pushed forward the seat and jumped out himself. Jenna tried to ignore him as best she could while he stood next to her, and she closed her eyes tightly, trying to silently deal with the feeling of wanting to be sick. Bane glanced down at her, and he grinned before he placed his hand on her back to push her forward, and Jenna jumped with a start before she corrected her footing to start toward the gate.

Isaac was waiting there, knowing very well that the gate had to be unlocked, so as Bane stopped next to him Jenna cut across the lawn to start toward the fence. Bane kept his eyes firmly locked on her as she easily climbed over the fence, never breaking a sweat, and his eyes followed her to the gate keeper's controls before she leaned into the open window to push the button to open the gates. She waited there, watching as Bane's men stormed up the driveway, and she felt her entire body start to tremble now as Bane started up the driveway behind them all. Maybe in a perfect world her father would be home and prepared, and be able to take down every one of them. But even as Jenna thought this she knew it was silly. When were her parents ever prepared for situations like this? They had moved to Gotham in hopes of restoring all the chaos that had occurred, but they never stopped to think about the chaos that had been continuing on. _Fucking idiots_... Jenna thought to herself sadly as she finally started up the driveway herself.

The door was unlocked, which was either very fortunate or highly tragic, though at the moment Jenna had no idea which to think it was. The henchman in front had pushed the door open before they all stormed in, though Bane took his time with stepping into the house. He lifted his head to look around the great hall, taking in the marble floor, the high ceiling, and large staircase directly in front of him. Jenna closed and locked the door behind her, and Bane's eyebrows rose when he glanced over to her, already incredibly surprised with her actions. It was almost as if she didn't want anyone to have the chance to escape. Again, Bane had to wonder if she was aware of what her actions appeared to mean, but his attention to these thoughts were shattered when he heard someone step out of their room.

"Jenna?" Came Robert's voice, and Jenna swallowed as she instantly stepped back toward the wall, only for Bane to reach out and grab her arm with crushing force. She gasped as he pulled her back toward his body, his fingers squeezing her arm, and he held her there just as Robert appeared at the top of the stairs. He had been ready to call out her name again, but he froze instantly when his eyes fell on all the armed men who stood in his hall, their weapons pointed directly at him. His eyes went wide as his jaw dropped, and the last thing he saw before a bullet ran through his heart was the site of his cowering daughter next to the very man they had been cleaning up the city after. Of course, he had not been prepared.

As the silenced gunshot rang through the air, Jenna closed her eyes tightly as her shoulder's hunched up, but she hadn't been fast enough. She had seen the blood splatter behind her father as he started to fall back, and the daunting image was fresh in her mind. All too quickly, however, her mother was suddenly calling out Robert's name as she ran out of their bedroom, but once her eyes focused on his dead frame at the top of the stairs, she screamed when she saw the men down below, and she instantly started to back up as Isaac led half of the team to rush upstairs. Bane started toward the stairs as well, tugging Jenna along side of him, and her stomach clenched as she anticipated to see her father again. But as they started up the stairs, she closed her eyes tightly and held her breath, letting Bane guide her up the stairs and away from the body, but her eyes popped open again when she heard her mother let out another scream. Isaac had grabbed her just before she could run into her room, and Bane finally let go of Jenna's arm as he stepped closer to Isaac while he did the same to Bane. That sick feeling creeping back to her, Jenna instantly stepped away from it all to stand by the railing near her parents room, and she crossed her arms tightly as Bane grabbed her mother's shoulders to pull her closer to himself. She struggled against him as Bane easily turned her around, and he kicked the back of her leg to force her to her knees in front of him, and he quickly took her head in between her hands. Gasping and tears falling from her eyes, Mia glanced up at her daughter in unison with Bane.

"Jenna," he started, picking up on the way Mia flinched upon hearing his obstructed and accented voice. She had only ever seen pictures of this man, the man who was supposed to dead. But it was clear now that he was alive and well, and the sound of his voice only made her cry harder. "Would you like to do the honors?"

Jenna's face faded into a sad and disgusted look as she tightened her crossed arms, and she shook her head as she took another small step back toward the railing, her back touching it now. Mia's eyes went wide while Bane continued to stare at Jenna for a moment longer, and finally with a small shrug he looked back down to Mia, curling his fingers back against her skin out of curiosity, but what was shocking or very expected, he was not sure which, he did not feel anything due to the feel of her equally as smooth skin. He snapped out of his curious daze, however, and tightened his hold on her head.

"It comes to this, Mrs. Silvera," Bane started in a loud voice. "Death by your own daughter's permission. Now that's a _strong, _loving family if I've ever seen one."

Mia continued to sob as she stared at Jenna, more confused and scared then ever, and Jenna thinned her lips as she glanced away, feeling tears burning behind her eyes, but she fought to hold these back.

"It seems you really screwed up with your only child!" Bane went on. "Did you ever think you'd see the day she'd prefer to stay with _me _rather than her own parents? Sad, the society we live in. So blinded by want... never having enough useless elements in life and always striving to get more... it blinds us from seeing what is really there... and what's truly important."

Jenna glanced up to Bane now upon hearing his thoughtful words, and her stomach dropped as she struggled to make sense of them. _Prefer to stay with him_? Where did that idea come from?

"Tell me, Mia, are you more depressed over your financial savings that will be no more, or your daughter's well being?"

"_Jenna_!" She cried, ignoring him. "Jenna _help _me!"

"Yes! Help _you_! Of course!" Bane spoke loudly, and he laughed a second later, his voice only causing Jenna to try and back away even more. "The Silvera family is nothing more than three selfish _brats _who have no care for anyone but themselves. You, Mrs. Mia Silvera, _deserve _to die, alongside your husband. But don't worry," Bane went on in a lower voice now, and he leaned down slightly to bring his face closer to the side of Mia's head, and she paused, letting out shaky breaths as she waited. "I'll be sure to take good care of your daughter..."

Again, Jenna had wanted to close her eyes to block out the images, but she was too slow. Without warning Bane leaned up and snapped her neck effortlessly, and he let Mia's limp body fall to the floor in front of his feet. Jenna had jumped at the awful noise, and she sucked in her lips as she bowed her head to let a single tear slide down her cheek. Bane glanced up to Jenna in just enough time to witness this, and he spoke up as he stepped over Mia's body.

"Don't be sad, Jenna! You wanted this, remember?" He lifted his hands up for emphasis as she looked up to glance at him just as he carelessly kicked her mother's body down the stairs, and she watched it tumble down the steps before it landed just at the foot of them. Jenna swallowed as another tear ran down her face, and she glanced back to Bane. The tears wetting her eyes caused them to appear even more aqua than normal, and Bane stared into them a moment longer before he stepped up to her. "Pack your bags," Bane said to her now in a calmer tone, quickly stopping himself from saying what he had originally wanted. He stared at her for a moment longer, growing frustrated with himself for doing that, and he turned away from her, figuring that he'd maybe tell her later. Jenna let out a shaky breath after she had swallowed back all the desire to continue to cry, and she wiped away her tears as she watched Bane walk away from her.

That lump never left her throat, however, as she stepped into her parent's room to get a suitcase, and she paused in the doorway, noticing quickly how torn up the room was. Clothes were littered all around, the dresser drawers empty. Their bed sheets and blankets were on the floor, and any knickknacks and pictures were spread all over the floor. Apparently, her father had been beside himself looking for his ID card that morning. She tried to ignore this thought, however, as she stepped into their closet to grab the biggest suitcase her mother owned, and she reached for it on the shelf, her fingers barely able to touch it, but she jumped a moment later when Isaac stepped beside her to reach it down with ease before he handed it to her. She looked up at his grinning face, but said nothing as she moved around him to start toward her bedroom.

She pushed open the door and paused immediately, however, when she realized her room was torn up in exactly the same fashion her parents room was.

"Your parent's held no respect for other's property." Bane's voice next to her suddenly caused her to jump again, and she glanced up at him as he, too, stared into her room. "Were they searching for this, perhaps?" He held up her father's ID card, holding it in between his index and middle finger, and Jenna's eyes dropped to it before she nodded at him. "Why would they think _you _took it?"

"Because my dad _never _misplaces anything," Jenna mumbled as she finally stepped into her messy room to slam her suitcase down on her bed, and Bane took a slow step into her room.

"Mis_placed_," he corrected, using the past tense now, and when Jenna turned to look at him he was smiling. She understood what he had done there, and she frowned as she headed over to her closet to began taking down her clothes from their hangers. Once she had an arm full, she stepped back over to bed and dropped them carelessly into the suitcase, and as she turned to grab more Bane had stepped up to her bed, and he reached into the suitcase to look at the clothes. When Jenna turned around again, she paused, watching as he picked up all the clothes to drop them carelessly onto the floor.

"You must pack clothes you seldom wear, Jenna," he told her as he looked back up to her, noticing she held similar styled clothes in her arms now.

"Why?"

"We run the risk of you being recognized," he answered in a tone that suggested that was something she should have figured out for herself, and Jenna instantly grew furious at that tone. She let out an exasperated sigh as she dropped the clothes to the floor, and she turned to walk even further into her closet toward the clothes she rarely ever wore, located far in the back. Even these were expensive and fancy looking, but upon digging through them on the hangers she was able to find a few a tank tops, shorts, jeans, long sleeved shirts and plain t-shirts. She stepped out of the closet now, and her eyes instantly found Bane as he glanced over at her for approval. His eyes dropped down to the clothes she held in her arms, and he gave her a single nod before she stepped in front of him to drop them into the suitcase. As she stood directly in front of him, leaning over slightly as she arranged the clothes in the suitcase, his eyes wandered down her body before they stared at her exposed back, due to her torn shirt, and he cocked an eyebrow as he allowed his eyes to roam down further. But he glanced up a quick second later when Jenna finally leaned up to head back into her closet, and he sucked in a sharp breath as he turned to fix his attention on something else other than her.

All while packing, Jenna could not erase the images of her parent's death from her eyes. Her father's death had been quick and gruesome, while her mother's had been prolonged and painful, and just the thought of it caused that lump to rise back in her throat, after it had started to go down. But Jenna would not let herself cry as she finished packing her clothes and moved on to pack a small bag of toiletries. Granted that had been a terrible event, especially when they had died all because of her, she found herself having to be thankful toward Bane for not making her have more of a participation in it. He had let her stand away as far as she wanted, and he did not have someone force her to watch. She had the opportunity to look away, though she had missed both of those opportunities, but all the while in the car she had been terrified that he would force her to do it herself while _he _watched.

But Jenna couldn't help but to be angry over something Bane had made her realize. Her mother had pleaded for Jenna to save _her_. Never mind Jenna had shown up with Bane, an obvious hostage as he dragged her painfully up the stairs, and forget the fact that Jenna was standing right in the middle of five armed men who were ready to kill her at any time, as well. Her mother didn't care Jenna was facing just as much danger as she was. _She _wanted to be saved. If the situation was turned, and it was Mia, or even Robert, who been being held hostage, and it was Jenna who was on her knees in front of Bane, ready to die, her parents would have turned the other cheek, so long as _they _could live. It was more true than Jenna had ever realized, and Bane had said it perfectly: _"the Silvera family is nothing more than three selfish _brats_ who have no care for anyone but themselves." _Jenna had always known her parents to be selfish, and she could not deny the fact that she was too, but she never realized just _how _selfish. They each were so wound up in themselves that they would watch their family members die in order for _them _to keep living. But Jenna was the one who was guilty of this due to fact. And Jenna was the one who had to live this fact for the rest of her days, however many more she would get to see. But as she finished with her toiletries, she vowed to herself that she would not let another person close to her die, and the person she had in mind was Rodger. Rodger had been her only true friend since moving Gotham, and Jenna would _not _give anyone permission to kill him. It was disgusting, and it was wrong.

A shudder ran through Jenna when she stepped back into her bedroom as more of Bane's words came to her mind. _"But don't worry...I'll be sure to take good care of your daughter..." _Take care of _how_? His words had been so bone chilling, and Jenna continued to shake as she replayed them in her head over and over again, able to hear Bane's voice through that respirator perfectly in her mind. She swallowed back that lump again as she zipped up her suitcase, and she jumped slightly when she notice someone step up to the doorway in the corner of her eye. She turned to glance at Bane, who held his eyes firmly on her. Today had gone better than he had planned. Granted Jenna had not done anything with the assistance in her parent's murder, the actions she did carry out spoke louder than words to him. She had locked the door, sending the message that she did not want her parents to get away, and she had not done a thing to stop Bane when the time had come to kill her mother. She had to have realized her mother's selfishness as she begged for Jenna to save her, and still, she continued to firmly stand there, and she said nothing as Bane carried out her death. She had instantly obeyed him to start packing her things without any word back, and he found it shocking that she did not have a mental breakdown over her parent's gruesome deaths. But he was still desperate to know if Jenna realized her apparent drive to be away from her life, even if that meant having to stay with him. Bane glanced over his shoulder to confirm that his men were busying themselves with other activities around the house, and Jenna watched as he stepped in.

"Do you realize how desperate you appear to be with wanting to escape your life?" He asked her what he had originally wanted, stopping only when he had approached her. Jenna said nothing, though she made a slightly confused face as she stared up at him. "Think about it, Jenna, all your actions up until this point can only bring me to one conclusion. Is staying with _me _really better than your life of luxury?"

He had not expected her to answer, he could already read the answers on her face and in her truthful eyes, but he was surprised when she did speak. "At least I'm treated like an adult over there," she grumbled as she slid her suitcase off of the bed, the heavy bag weighing her arm down. Bane's eyebrows furrowed.

"How so?"

"I don't know," Jenna replied truthfully in a hushed voice. "I guess it's just better to be treated like a hostage instead of a child." It was the truest thing she had admitted to in a long time, even though it was a terrible truth. Bane continued to stare at her for a moment longer, but when Jenna started to turn, something in her pocket caught his attention. He silently reached out to place his hand on her shoulder, and a shock ran up Jenna's spine as she allowed him to turn her around to face him. His eyes were fixed on her hips, and she held her breath as he reached into her pocket to draw out the knife Isaac had given her.

"Where did you get this?" He asked, and when he glanced down to Jenna he noticed her eyes had widened. It was just what she needed. When Bane was finally acting more civil than ever toward her, for reasons that confused her immensely, of course she would forget to hide that knife better. She could only imagine the thoughts running through his mind as he predicted what her intentions had been.

"Isaac gave it to me," she said quickly. "Last night. It was that guy's."

"He gave it to you?" Bane repeated as he looked back to the knife before his eyes met hers again.

"To... defend myself with, I guess," Jenna replied, and she swallowed as she glanced down to the floor, wishing she could put the heavy suitcase down. Bane stared at the knife again, and a short second later a grin slid onto his lips. He knew he had appointed Barsad as his second in command for a reason. He was a professional when it came to following Bane's orders, and he even found a way to do so cleverly. Bane wanted to keep Jenna alive when his new recruits didn't, and under Isaac's control over the situation, Jenna would stay alive, one way or another. His grin never faded from his face as he handed her the knife back, and Jenna slowly took it from him, confusion in her eyes. But Bane didn't say a word as he started toward the door, and after Jenna had tucked the knife back into her pocket she followed him out of the room.

–

The ride back was quick and silent, and finally Jenna felt as though her nerves were dying down, although the images of her parents were still fresh in her mind. Oddly enough, Isaac had offered her another cigarette, and she smoked it in silence as she stared out of the window. When they reached the warehouse again, Jenna was able to read the sign on top of the building: _City Lighting Shipping Warehouse_. It was a company she had never heard of before, but it was obvious they had gone under a while ago, leaving Bane the chance to turn it into his lair of sorts. After Isaac had parked, he escorted Jenna back to the room of chairs before he and Bane had left again, and Jenna couldn't help but to grow nervous as she sat alone in the room, her knife opened and ready to use as she held it in her hand. It was an incredible and stupid thing, really, that Jenna already felt a sense of security from the two men she loathed and even somewhat feared the most. But it appeared as though Isaac and especially Bane were the only two capable of saving her if another attack was to happen. It was clear to her finally that Bane's intentions of killing her had faded, and it was because of that fact that she felt herself calm down some.

But when Isaac and Bane returned a few hours later, Jenna couldn't help but to suddenly wish they had not. Isaac had opened the door and announced that Bane wanted her, and upon standing up and heading out of the chair room, she saw Bane standing next to a table in the middle of the large basement. As she neared, her eyes narrowed on two boxes of pitch black hair dye and scissors sitting in front of them, and her eyes instantly widened as she glanced up to him once she approached the table. Bane was staring intently into her eyes, and Jenna instantly started to shake her head.

"I'm not dying my hair black," she stated simply, leaving all feelings of nervousness and fear at the door. This was crossing the line.

"Such bravery in those words you speak," Bane said. "Unfortunately, you have no choice. Take out your piercings."

"No!" Jenna exclaimed as she took a step back, and with a sigh Bane took a large step forward.

"Either you remove them yourself, or I'll take great pleasure in doing it for you." His words were threatening as Jenna could only imagine the ways in which he would carry out that task, so with a pout on her face she reached up to slowly screw off the ball on her eyebrow ring. Bane held out his large, bare hand to her, and once she removed the piercing she placed it on the palm of her hand before she moved on to her nose. She slapped her hands against her thighs as she lowered her arms when she was finished, but when she glanced up at him he was still staring expectantly at her. She continued to glare at him as she finally started to unscrew the ball on her bellybutton ring from under her ripped shirt, and she dropped the jewelry into his hand before she raised her eyebrows and hands as if saying "there? You happy?"

"Your ears," Bane said, ignoring her gesture.

"Why?" Jenna complained as her face fell into another frown, and Bane couldn't help but to chuckle at her frustration over something so trivial. But he did not answer her, he had no need, so with a furious sigh Jenna removed the rest of her piercings and dropped them into Bane's hand. Satisfied, he turned to place them on the table, and Jenna watched as he picked up the boxes of hair dye and scissors before he forced them into her hands.

"Bathroom's up the stairs and down the hall. You are to cut your hair and dye it completely."

It looked as though Jenna was about to cry as she stared down at the boxes, and he watched her, waiting for her response that he knew was coming.

"Can I _please _just not?" She bravely asked in a quiet voice as she glanced back up to him, and the fierce look in his eye caused her to immediately back down.

"I won't tell you again," Bane replied, and without another word he turned away from her to head toward his door. Jenna bit her lip as she glanced over to her right, and she glared at Isaac as he grinned at her. Why was he _always _around?

"You gonna supervise?" Jenna rudely asked him as she glared into his eyes, and he laughed silently as he shook his head.

"You're a big girl," he said with a nod. "I think you can cut and dye your hair yourself."

Jenna continued to glare at him until finally she headed over to the stairs, following Bane's directions, and she ignored the few men who were upstairs as she headed toward the bathroom. She snapped on the light, illuminating the abandoned bathroom's floor and walls, and she locked the door behind her before she placed the items in the old sink. The mirror behind it was long, and layers of grime framed the surface, leaving only a small portion in the middle to be clear. Jenna stared at her reflection in this area, her eyes wandering over her long, straight red hair. It was the last thing she felt like she had. She had always loved her hair. Swallowing, she combed her fingers through it, getting out the tangles, and she took in a deep breath as she picked up the scissors. She had never cut her own hair before, and her hand shook as she separated a strand in front. How short had Bane meant? Surely he couldn't have meant to cut _all _of it. Jenna knew she'd die before she ever did that. So with sucking in another sharp breath, she separated the blades of the scissors, placed her hair in between them, and she closed her eyes as she brought the blades together. A little more than two inches of her hair fell to the floor, and she stared down at the bright red mess on the grimy floor, her heart racing. She knew it was stupid to feel this way, but she couldn't help it.

She felt petrified after she was finished trimming her hair, and as she stared at herself again she frowned. The difference in her hair was incredibly noticeable to her, and as she opened the first box of hair dye she hoped it would be for Bane as well. It had taken her years to grow her hair to the length she had always desired, and cutting it off made her feel like it had all been for nothing. She read the directions for the hair dye with furrowed eyebrows, and she continued to frown as she mixed the formulas before she slid on the gloves to start applying it. The dye instantly took her hair, the first strand being the one directly in front that framed her face, and her lips parted sadly as she tried to take in the dark color. She knew she was going to look _terrible _with black hair, just fucking terrible, but what did it matter, really? She had nobody to impress.

Jenna had been in that bathroom for almost two hours, and right when Bane had been about to go upstairs and check on her, Jenna started down the stairs, the scissors in her hand, and from behind her newly dyed, jet black hair that she had struggled to rinse in the sink, she held a facial expression of pure sadness and frustration. Bane stepped closer to her as she approached him, her eyes fixed on the ground, but Bane couldn't help but to grow annoyed with her. Had she even cut her hair at all? She stopped when she approached him, and she glanced up to him. Bane had been about to speak, but he paused, noticing instantly how the black of her hair only seemed to bring out her eyes ten times more. He stared into them for a moment until the issue caught up with him, and his eyes wandered down her long hair, his eyebrows furrowing.

"You didn't even cut your hair," he accused as his annoyed eyes met hers again, and Jenna's jaw dropped in protest.

"Yes I did," she argued, but Bane was already shaking his head, and without warning he snatched the scissors from her hands before he grabbed her upper arm to drag her behind him up the stairs, Jenna flinching all the while at the pain. Anger suddenly caught up to her as she remembered what she had told Bane just a few hours ago: _"I guess it's just better to be treated like a hostage instead of a child." _Right now, however, she did not feel like an adult hostage, but a _child _in troublebeing dragged up the stairs to their bedroom. A new found fire burned inside of her as she grew frantic while she tried to free herself from his grasp. Bane easily held on however, and he kicked open the bathroom door and snapped the light on before he pushed Jenna in front of him to stand in front of the mirror. She tried to turn her head to glare at him, about ready to speak up, only to let out a small grunt when he grabbed her head and turned it, forcing her to face the mirror, and her eyes went wide as he picked up a strand of her wet hair in front to bring the scissors up to it. Without a care he closed the blades down in the middle of the strand and let the black hair fall to the floor on top of the red hair that she _had _previously cut, and when he looked at her through the mirror he took a moment to watch the look of horror that came into her face as she stared at the ridiculously short strand Bane had left her with, and suddenly her hair became the most important thing to worry about again.

"You experience more horror from a hair cut than you do your own parent's murder. Perhaps later you can explain to me how that works, but for now go off of _that _and finish your hair. I'll be waiting." He left abruptly, not bothering to close the door as Jenna continued to stare at the strand, and with a sad and furious pout on her face she knew she had no choice but to finish.

It was worse than she ever imagined. Not only was her hair all choppy due to her unskilled ways of cutting it, but her long locks were no more, and they wouldn't be for a while. Her hair ended right in between her breasts and shoulders, and she couldn't get over how different she looked. Her make up was smeared around her eyes, her face bare of her piercings, and as her wet hair dried it started to wave naturally, something she hated, and she continued to frown as her eyes wandered over her hair. It was disgusting, and it wasn't fair.

But when she returned downstairs, stomping her way down the concrete, Bane had frozen when his eyes made contact with her. He hadn't expected for Jenna to look so much better with shorter, black hair; all that he desired was she looked different enough to not be recognized so quickly on the streets, if the need for her to go out into town arose. But as she continued to storm either toward him or the chair room, he was unsure which, a stronger, unrecognizable force made it difficult for him to tear his eyes away from her. His eyes wandered down her hair and to her breasts, before they roamed down further to stare at her flat stomach, narrow waist and wide hips. Just as his eyes made it down to her slim thighs, she turned to look over at him, and a shock ran up her spine when his eyes quickly traveled back up her body to look back into hers. She slowed her pace slightly, that shock catching her off guard again, and for reasons that were unknown to her her eyes quickly roamed back down his body, and she couldn't help but to take in his black shirt again. Bane continued to stare at her as she walked, noticing her eyes wander back up to his own quickly, and his eyes narrowed in slight confusion as he watched her. She finally turned her head away right when she had reached the door, and she pushed it open before disappearing inside, slamming the door behind her. Bane continued standing there, trying to make sense of what had just happened to the both of them, and he grew provoked when he realized how his heart was racing. He growled to himself as he started over to her door, telling himself over and over in his head that what had just happened was nothing more than two people just looking at each other. It was nothing worth thinking deeply about.

Jenna was slightly shocked to see a dark green cot had been set up in the room, complete with two pillows and even a large black comforter that drooped lazily off the sides, her large suitcase sitting on the side of it. Her heart, which had started to race when she had caught Bane looking at her and when her own eyes wandered over him, was still doing so, and she took a deep breath as she stepped over to the cot. She found it ridiculously odd that Bane would have something bed-like set up for her, but she didn't want to think too much into it. It was better than having to sleep on the floor, and at least now she would be warm, especially when Summer was winding down to an end.

She had just made it to her bag, and she knelt down to unzip it, figuring it would be a good idea to finally change out of her ripped and ruined shirt, but she jumped when she heard the door open suddenly. Staying knelt, she glanced over her shoulder and watched as Bane took a small step into the room, his eyes fixed on hers. She rolled her eyes as she turned back to the face her bag, and with a loud, annoyed sigh she swatted at the short hair that fell into her face before she angrily tucked it behind her ear, only for it to easily fall back into her face. She closed her eyes tightly as she heard Bane take another step into the room, and she tried her best to ignore him and her hair as she finally started to rummage through her bag for a new shirt. Her frustration was evident to Bane, and he watched her for a second longer before he finally spoke up.

"I have a difficult time understanding you, Jenna," he began, and Jenna froze at the sound of his voice, and the words he spoke. "You handled your parent's death so well, yet when you have to change your hair the world ends. Your priorities seem to be... in the incorrect order."

Jenna went back to looking through her suitcase. "What order _should _they be in?"

Her tone surprised him every time. It held annoyance and lacked anxiety.

"I don't know," he began in a lower pitched voice. "Your situation is unique... you've lost everything and yet you act like it's no concern to you. I expected you to die in your parent's place, sacrifice yourself so they could continue on. Is your hatred for them really that strong?"

Jenna pulled out another black tank top, and she unfolded it to stare at it. An odd pang went through her heart again, not out of sadness, but out of confusion. Was her hatred that strong? "What's it matter to you?" Jenna asked. "I hated them, but..." She trailed off as she stared blankly at the shirt now, unsure of where she was going with her answer, or even more so where this conversation was going or where it had even come from in the first place. Weren't hostage situations usually a lot more... wordless, and painful?

"But yet you still depended one-hundred and one percent on them."

"I did _not_," Jenna spoke quickly as she turned around to glare at him, only to wish she hadn't. Bane's eyebrows rose as he bowed his head slightly, and she saw nothing but disagreement in his eyes.

"Your money, your clothes, your transportation..." he began to list. "Most people who _really _hate their families refuse to take anything from them. You relied on them heavily."

"I didn't have a choice," Jenna answered quickly as she turned back around, no longer desiring to defend herself. It would more than likely just get her killed.

"College... a job...?" Bane offered. He didn't understand why, but for some reason or another he was truly interested in her answers. Of all the families he could have wiped out in Gotham, and of all the hostages he could have held on to, it had to be the most stubborn and backwards person in Gotham. Jenna frowned as she stared into her suitcase, her hands clutching the black tank top in front of her. "You didn't want any of those because you enjoyed the free flow of money and being able to do what you wanted with it, without having to worry about important expenses. You lived the life of an adolescent, under your parents control, but felt excitement in sneaking around them."

"I'm sure growing up for you was _so_ much harder," Jenna returned, Bane's offending words stinging her, and she shook her head to herself.

"I was born in Hell on Earth," Bane told her, and Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced over her shoulder at him again. "Raised in darkness and forced to live in a terrible environment of hope."

Jenna stared into his eyes before she started to turn around. "Doesn't sound so bad," she lied. His answer made her think of herself. Her parent's choice of cities were always Hellish, and all her life she relied on nothing but hope; hope that she could find a way to escape her life and start fresh. She froze, however, when Bane let out a laugh.

"I can understand why you'd relate that to yourself," Bane went on, and it felt like Jenna's heart fell into her stomach. How could he understand the underlying messages in her words so clearly? It was almost as if he could read her mind. "But let it be known that you have _no _idea what going through hell is really like. Conceited parents and being surrounded by fake people is a sort of... Heaven."

Jenna finally stood up, flinching at the strain on her legs as she stretched them, and she turned around to look at him again, growing more confused by the second. "Have I entered Hell now?"

Bane shrugged. "I don't know... have you?"

"It's not my place to say," Jenna said. "I'm not the one in control here."

"Your situation is what you make of it," Bane said. "Your will to live kept you alive, and it will continue to do so as long as you stay strong in that desire. From what I can make of it, this is not Hell for you. This is... something better."

"Because having everything taken from me and having to defend myself with some stupid little knife is really Heaven on Earth," Jenna retorted bravely, and she rolled her eyes as she started to turn away from him again, and she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"You enjoy it," Bane returned, her tone proving this to be true to him. "All you've ever wanted was to get away from your life. And now you've done so, even if it was in the worst way possible."

The room grew silent as Jenna let his words sink in. Was he right? _No_, Jenna thought sternly to herself. How could her situation be related to anything but Hell? But at the same time, Bane's words made her feel... funny, like he made her realize things she had always known but chose to keep locked away, deep down inside. Until now. It was so unusual, though, for it seemed as though Bane wanted her to be somewhat comfortable there. He allowed her pack her things, and had even gone as far to set up a cot for her to sleep on. But how could that be? It made absolutely no sense. But deep down, the urge to ask him this was growing stronger and stronger until the point of Jenna opening her mouth to ask, even though her mind was screaming at her to keep quiet.

"Why do you even want me around?"

Bane's eyes widened slightly at her question. She was so curious to the point of being unable to hold back her questions, even in front of him. "I don't," Bane answered truthfully, and Jenna felt a cold shock run up her spine. "But you're... intriguing. Killing you would be a waste, and if I didn't keep you here you'd run and do something stupid."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed again as her lips parted, and suddenly the room began to spin. She tried to decipher his words like he did with hers, and she tried to understand the hidden message in them, but she could only come up with two things: either he was lying to her, and he _did _want her around, but she knew that was completely wrong. On the other hand, perhaps he felt some weird feeling about her deep down, like a hunch, or a gut instinct, just like how she felt about him. They were feelings that were unexplainable, feelings that made her eyes idly wander down his body and made her unable to look away from him. Feelings that caused her to feel free to bravely speak out what was on her mind, and feelings that overpowered the fear she should be feeling towards him...

Bane had paused as well as he realized how clearly that truth had come out, though at the same time he had no idea where those words had come from. That odd dizzy feeling overcame him again, and suddenly he felt frustrated, though the urge to continue talking to her increased. It was a feeling that he had never felt before, and he didn't like it.

Jenna could feel him staring at her, and suddenly the air in the room became thick, heavy and hot as she drew in a deep breath, and she turned slightly to glance over her shoulder at him. She stared into his eyes now, trying to make herself afraid. She pictured him suddenly lashing out toward her to choke her to death, but her heart told her that he would not do that. Her eyes dropped down his mask. It was intimidating, with the size of it and all the valves and tubes, and it would make any person instantly feel leery and terrified of him. Though while it did make her feel uncomfortable, she found it be more intriguing rather than terrifying. Her eyes dropped down to his broad shoulders and the muscles underneath the tight material of his shirt, and while she had never seen anyone so huge and strong, her heart began to race as she started to find it difficult to look away. She finally forced herself to look back into his eyes. She wasn't afraid, and she couldn't force herself to be. She was nervous, sure, for her life had suddenly become unpredictable as she was forced to stay with a very unpredictable person, but those gut instincts were overpowering anything and everything logical.

All the while, Bane had been staring back at her, trying to make himself want to kill her and lose interest in her demeanor. But her eyes held so many deep emotions, emotions that were lost under all her trivial problems, and he wanted to know what those real emotions were. Her eyes were so unlike anybody else's he had ever seen, and it bothered him how much he enjoyed staring into them. They only fed his curiosity. His eyes wandered down to her plump lips, and a small shock of sorts traveled slowly up his tinkered spine as he stared them. He tried to picture her mouth torn open as she screamed, truly frightened as she feared for her life and tried to get away, but all he could see now and picture in his mind was the plump pout she always wore them in, or how wide her smile had been in that newspaper picture. His eyes roamed down her body, directly at the same time hers had roamed down his, and he tried to make himself enjoy the feel of how fragile she would be under his crushing force as he killed her. But she was so slender, and curvy, and she held a physical strength that he imaged her to never have. His eyes traveled back up her body forcibly to stare back into her eyes. He had only ever felt similar feelings to one other person, but yet, with further thought, those feelings had been way different. They were feelings of protectiveness, warmth, and the desire to please, but those feelings had been squandered and shattered all within a matter of seconds. It was different with Jenna. Unwanted feelings of want, understanding, and intense physical attraction overwhelmed him, and he had no idea what to do about it. Sure Talia – he forced himself to think her name – had been attractive, but not like Jenna. And Bane could never make himself interested or curious toward her. Her eyes were blank, they held no secret stories and desires. If it hadn't been for Talia, Bane would have never left that pit, and for years he felt as though he owed Talia everything for what she had done for him. But it had all been a lie, and it had all been for nothing. All his destruction had been for her, and she had the mindset of leaving him behind so she could get away. If his feelings toward her had been true and heartfelt, he would have gladly died in her name. But when she left, it caused him to have the biggest realization, and betrayal and hurt flooded him as he sought her out...

Jenna taking in a breath tore him from his thoughts, and he blinked at he focused his eyes on her again. It had been apparent to her that Bane was thinking about something, something important, and while she was curious to know what that, was she knew asking would not help her situation, so she forced herself to stay quiet. They stared into each others eyes for a few seconds longer until Bane suddenly turned around to walk out of the room without a word, and once he closed the door behind him Jenna let out a deep breath. She swallowed as she turned to sit on the cot, and she stared at the floor as she tried to make sense of all that had happened. Everyday more questions arose in her, and strengthened her curiosity, and what was frustrating was Jenna knew she would never know the answers. _Why _did Bane feel the need to keep her around, when it was clear that he didn't _want _her to be around? Why did he try to understand her, and why did he care to understand her in the first place? And even more so, why was it so easy for Jenna to act like herself in this terrible situation, and even worse, why did she actually want to answer Bane's questions and find out more about him as well?

She sighed now as she turned her body to lay down on the cot and rest her head on the pillows, and she closed her eyes, only able to see Bane's eyes looking back at her. Just like Bane could read her eyes, Jenna could read his, and like Bane she knew there were secrets that those eyes had seen, dealt with, and were forced to carry. And what was worse than everything – her parents death, her hostage situation, her fight for her life and loss of everything she had ever known – she wanted to know what those secrets were.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review, or else Bane will come after you... and I don't mean that in a good way.  
**


	6. These Feelings Are Mutual

The nagging urge of having to pee woke Jenna up from a dead sleep that night, and she groaned to herself as she struggled to turn over on the rather uncomfortable cot. It had been a constant battle of being unable to get comfortable while she tried to remind herself it was better than sleeping on the floor. Being the type of sleeper who would, unaware, sprawl out completely to take up the entire bed's space, the cot made this near impossible, and whenever she would allow for her arms or legs to hang off of the edge, she would grow too cold, and retract them back and stay hunched in a small ball under the blanket. Now, as she slowly opened her eyes, her bladder burning, she realized quickly how sore her back and neck had become, and she closed her eyes tightly as she forced herself to sit up. A shock of pain ran up her back and lingered on her neck, and as she reached her left hand up to place it on the back of her neck she reached behind her to search for her knife with her right. Once her fingers found it, she placed it in the pocket of her sweat pants and stood up to head over to the door.

She slowly eased it open and peered outside of it. The lights up ahead were dim, barely illuminating the space in front of her, and her eyes wandered over to the left to look at Bane's closed door. When her eyes roamed back over to the right, however, she noticed two of his henchmen, who had been sitting on a torn couch of sorts, had turned and were glaring directly at her. She tried to ignore them –she wasn't doing anything wrong– and she finally stepped out of the chair room to start over to the stairs.

"Hey!" One of the henchmen yelled as they both stood up quickly from the couch, their giant machine guns clutched in each of their hands. They sprinted to the stairs, and Jenna instantly grew furious when one of them reached out to take a firm hold of her upper arm before yanking her down on the stairs. "Where you think you're goin'?" The man who had her arm asked, and he ignored her angry glare.

"The _bathroom_," Jenna retorted rudely as she glared into his eyes. "You mind?" She raised her eyebrows as she dropped her eyes down to her arm, and the man glared at her before he finally let go of her arm to point a finger directly into her face.

"You have _three _minutes," he told her, and Jenna rolled her eyes before she started up the stairs to head down the hall. The glowing green exit sign above to the door to her right caught her attention, and as she walked past it she turned her head slightly to look at the door. _No_, she thought to herself. _There's no way it would be that easy... Would it_?

Thoughts of escape had long ago left her mind, but as she walked past the door, she had to wonder... it was so close, and it really would be easy. Due to that day she had seen the area of the building, all she would have to do is run out of it and take off into that field, where there were plenty of areas to hide as she made her way toward the river, where once she crossed it would be a free run back into town. It was possible, and she knew she was more than capable, but at the same time there were too many factors that held her back.

Where would she go? She frowned as she pushed open the bathroom door, and she sidestepped the hair that remained under and near the sink as she headed toward the toilet next to the shower. Her parent's were dead, and it would make sense she would retreat back to her house to hide, wouldn't it? Bringing Rodger into any of this was out of the question, and wandering the streets was the first thing that would cause her to be dragged right back here.

But how much longer could she go on like this? As she struggled to fall asleep that night, memories and future worries flooded her brain. Bane's constant questions toward her not only confused her, but concerned her. _Why _did he care to know them? It freaked her out, to be honest. Here was this large, intimidating man, who was capable of tearing down an entire city, and yet he went out of his way to spend time with Jenna, and ask her questions that nobody else had ever cared to wonder. It made her feel like he had some sort of trick up his sleeve, or like if she was to give him a wrong answer, her death would come sooner than expected.

But the problems on _her _side were even more terrifying. Why did she always catch herself _staring_ at him. Not in fear, and not completely in anger anymore, but rather in... interest. Jenna growled to herself as she flushed the toilet now before stepping over to the sink, and she planted her feet in front of the hair before she leaned over to wash her hands, surprised there was even soap in the dispenser. Her mind wandered back to Bane now, and she pictured him in that tight black shirt again... It was difficult to process, and her actions only made her furious with herself, but she couldn't help but to at least look. It was as if some unrecognizable force made her do it whenever he was around.

Escape made sense, though at the same time, it didn't. What if she was to try; if she failed and was brought back, would Bane kill her then? _"Killing you would be a waste, and if I didn't keep you here you'd run and do something stupid", _Bane had told her earlier. If she did run, would killing her still be a waste? Would his frustration overpower these odd feelings he had been dealing with and make him do it anyway? Was he referring to her dying for running as being the 'something stupid' he had mentioned earlier?

Regardless of these thoughts, however, the urge to try would not leave her, and as she stared at her ugly reflection in the mirror, her black hair that still smelled strongly of the dye thrown in her face, she thought about the good that would come of it. First and foremost, she would be away from Bane. If she truly succeeded she would no longer have to fight for her life. She could leave Gotham, somehow, and live her life the way she wanted. With further thought, it started to make sense to her that Bane wouldn't go after her or want her dead anymore. He had said it himself, he didn't want her around. So if she was away from him, or dead, what was the difference? She had no desire to go to the authorities. Those people were never any help, and if anything Bane would be expecting her to do that as well. But she wouldn't. She would leave, never to be heard of again, and everyone could get on with their lives. Bane had access to her father's weapons now. She had done his favor, and she knew she was good for nothing else toward him. Escaping made sense, and it seemed right now would be her only chance...

She slowly eased open the bathroom door and peered down the dark hallway. At the foot of the stairs in the basement, she could hear those same two henchmen talking and laughing about something, and her heart began to race as she slowly stepped out of the bathroom, not bothering to close the door. It would be close, for the second she would even touch the door those two goons would be chasing her outside. She would have to run in a direction they would not expect... she would have to take off around the corner and run off the property in an awkward location, but she could do it, even with bare-feet. And if she _did _die trying... well...

She swallowed, unsure about how she felt about that. She didn't want to die, she was still firm on that, but at the same time, would _anything _be better at this point than living the way she was now... with Bane? Bane was wrong on so many levels when he told her her situation was better than a Hell on Earth. Like hell he could read that in her eyes; he was just making up stuff, he had to be. But as Jenna continued to creep down the hall, approaching the door, it was now or never. So regardless of her thoughts, it was a last second, brainless decision as she instantly turned on her bare heel to lunge toward the door, the men shouting behind her as they started up the stairs, the weapons ready to be fired.

She threw open the door, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest, and the air was bitingly cold as she stepped onto the small concrete porch. Her eyes detected nothing as she grabbed the railing with one hand before she swung her legs around the iron to land firmly on the ground, four or five steps below, but just as she took her first running step forward, an arm obstructed her, and she gasped as the limb pulled her back toward a body.

"Whoa!" Came Isaac's voice as he let go of her to turn her around, and Jenna's eyes went wide as she glanced up to the him, his body and face illuminated by the dim lights over the two opened garage-like doors, and she noticed a cigarette was in in between his lips. "Leaving so soon?"

She was unable to answer for two reasons: one, she had no idea what to say, and she was shocked when Isaac stuck a cigarette in between her own lips. Before she could remove it, he held the lighter up to it, and she inhaled before she grabbed the cigarette to take from her lips just as the door above her burst open, and she jumped as she turned to watch as the two henchman jumped down the stairs.

"Hey, hey," Isaac said as he held up his own hands, his cigarette in between his fingers, and he stepped in front of Jenna. "What's goin' on?"

"She was runnin' away!" One of the thugs accused as he took another step forward, but Isaac held his ground, and everything started to spin as Jenna watched the odd situation unfold.

"We saw her!" The other one chimed in as he pointed at her with his gun, and she flinched as she took a step back, her heart still going at a million miles a second.

"You saw her comin' out for a smoke," Isaac lied. "With me," he added.

"Man that's _bullshit_!" The man who had pointed the gun at her exclaimed as he lowered it to spin around to look in the opposite direction, obviously frustrated.

"Isaac, we're all getting sick of you defending her. I saw what I saw. There's no way you _invited _her out here."

"About ten minutes ago I went down there to invite her out, and I told her to come if she wanted. Took her a while, but she did. You wanna go to Bane with this? At _three _in the morning?" Isaac went on, and surprisingly Jenna's heart started to slow as she started to calm down some. _How weird..._

The two henchmen continued to stare at him, their expressions giving Isaac his answer.

"Didn't think so," he went on as he lifted his cigarette to his mouth to take another hit, and he nodded at the door as he exhaled. "You're dismissed," he added a second later with a small grin.

They continued to glare at him a moment longer before they finally turned to head back into the warehouse, going through the garage-like doors as they mumbled to each other, and Jenna let out the breath she had been holding when she heard a door slam. Isaac turned to her now, and he grinned at her.

"You're welcome," he said simply as he turned to start over to the doors. Jenna watched him go for a minute before she stepped over to him.

"Why did you do that? And don't give me any of that _Bane's orders_ shit."

Isaac shrugged as he took another hit. "Bane's orders," he said anyway. "He wants you alive, _here_, so alive and here you will stay," he added in a cheery, matter-of-fact tone of voice. Jenna continued to stare at him until finally Isaac rolled his eyes. "And," he went on. "You're fucked by this point if you leave. Consider this a favor. Those two would have blasted your head off in a fuckin' heartbeat, and if you _did _get away, you'd be hauled right back and die anyway. You're so desperate to live right? So why leave?"

Jenna was still staring at him, completely thrown off by his actions. He was still following Bane's orders, but at the same time he had just done her the kindest favor anyone had done in a while. "Why _not _leave?" She asked him now, she couldn't help it. "It's hard being here. Everywhere I go everyone wants to kill me. It couldn't get worse..." she shook her head as she tucked her hair behind her ear, and she let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes when the strand fell back into her face. Isaac was grinning as he stared at her.

"Cutting and dying your hair isn't the end of the world, you big baby," he went on. "Sometimes life throws you a bad hand. You gotta man up and play the game anyway."

"Easy for you to say," Jenna said. "You're like... the second in command here. If they aren't listening to Bane, they're listening to you."

"And it took me a long time to get to that point, it wasn't all rainbows and butterflies when I was ta... when I came here here," Isaac returned, tripping over his words as he glanced back to her, his grin gone. "It sucks, I get it. You feel like the most unfortunate person in Gotham right now, but I can tell you that in _no _time you'll be happy to be working on the inside. I know what Bane's general plans are now, and I'll tell you, if all this didn't happen, you'd be living in a nightmare."

"Because I'm not already," Jenna mumbled as she rolled her eyes, and a shock ran up her spine when Isaac took a large step over to her.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know that?" he asked now as he glared into her eyes. "Give it some time, but you'll see I'm right. For some reason I like you," he admitted easily. "You're kind of a huge brat, but I know there's more to you than that, and Bane knows it too. You're able to hold your own, you're strong. Kind of stupid sometimes, which you proved tonight, but smart about most things. I'll bet you're a fast learner," he went on, grinning again, and Jenna finally exhaled the smoke as she stared at him.

"What makes you think that?"

"I'd bet money on the fact that you won't try to run out of here again," he answered, and he could tell that Jenna was considering this as she looked away from him. He continued to stare at her, feeling true to what he had admitted, and he took another hit from his cigarette. "Your black hair, by the way, doesn't look as bad as you think it does. You want my opinion?"

"No," Jenna answered as she crossed her arms, a cold breeze blowing by, but she knew Isaac would give it to her anyway.

"You look better," he replied quickly, and he turned around suddenly without anything more to say. Jenna glanced up at him now, watching as he headed toward the garage doors, and she furrowed her eyebrows. How was it that right when she figured her situation couldn't get anymore complicated, it always found a way to. Her heart had finally returned to its normal tempo, and she took another drag as she started over toward the garage doors.

"_Are_ you the 'second in command' here, like actually?" Jenna asked now, and he turned around to look at her, surprised she had followed him and opened her mouth to ask him anything at all.

"Yup," he answered.

"You said it took a while to get to that point. Why?"

Isaac shrugged. "I wasn't instantly appointed to the job. It takes time to prove yourself."

"How did you even... _get _here?" Jenna asked him now, watching as he tossed his cigarette onto the ground before squashing it with his boot, and he glanced up to her with unreadable eyes.

"That's a story for another time," he replied with a small smile, and he turned around again to walk under the garage doors. Jenna watched as an automatic light instantly turned on due to the movement, and her eyes wandered over the various cars that were parked in there. She watched as Isaac made his way toward a table before picking up a tire iron, and already she was uninterested. She finished her cigarette before she carelessly tossed it on the ground in front of her, and she stepped up to the doors just as Isaac had started to squat down in front of the flat, front right tire on a black car that had been jacked up.

"Do you think I could steal one more cigarette?" Jenna asked him, and he glanced over to her before a small grin slid onto his lips, and he reached into the pocket on his shirt to toss her the rest of his pack before he tossed her a red lighter. She glanced down at them before she quickly glanced back up at him. "Hey, do you think... I mean, will they try to do anything when I go back down there?"

Isaac let out a small laugh as he instantly started to take the bolts off of the flat tire. "So she _is _afraid," he said with a grin. "Nah," he finally answered her a second later when he detected her annoyed face from the corner of his eye. "They won't do anything."

He spoke his answer confidently, so Jenna finally started to turn and head toward the door from which she had run out of. "Thanks," she told him before she disappeared out of view completely. It was unknown to both him and her whether she was thanking him for the cigarettes, the rescue, or both, but neither of them said as word as Jenna finally started to climb the stairs to head back inside.

The same two thugs were staring at her as she descended the stairs to head over to her room, and she kept her eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of her as she headed to her door. Once she was inside, she closed it behind her, took her knife out of her pocket, set her cigarettes and lighter on the floor by her, and laid down on the cot. As she rested her head on the pillow, she let out another prolonged sigh as she closed her eyes, and she couldn't help but to still feel dizzy. She had just barely convinced herself that running away would be a good thing, though clearly it was nothing but a death wish. Sure Isaac had been grinning all the while, but she could hear the seriousness in his words. If she wanted to stay alive, she had no choice but to stay here, where the source of all her problems and the man capable of carrying out her death was sleeping in his own room just a mere ten feet from her door...

–

Sleep did not come easily for Jenna after her run in with Isaac. She tossed and turned, growing frustrated with her back and neck pain, and by the time she heard various voices outside of her door she felt even more exhausted than ever. Now, she laid with her back to the door, the comforter pulled all the way up to her chin, and she kept her eyes closed, hoping and praying that it was not her time to wake up yet. She was sure if she could just get at least _one _hour of sleep she'd be able to function on that, but not even a second after that thought had crossed her mind she listened as someone opened her door, and she listened to the heavy footsteps as they made their way toward her.

She kept her eyes closed as Bane stared down at her, his eyes wandering over her balled up body underneath the blanket, and as his eyes wandered back up to the profile of her face he had to wonder how Jenna was capable of making her body curl into something so small. He could tell she was not asleep, so with a small grin he brought back his foot before kicking the right front leg of the cot, causing the bed of sorts to rumble and shake violently, and Jenna jumped as she sat up slightly.

"Rise and shine!" Bane's boasting voice boomed throughout the room, and Jenna closed her eyes tightly as a shock ran up her spine. "Today's the day you prove your _value_ to me, if you have any..." Bane added in a mumble, and he continued to stand there, waiting for Jenna to look at him. When she finally did, after forcing her eyes open with a prying force and turning her head to look up at him through her black hair, he bowed his head slightly. "Do you have any value, Jenna?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced away, and she pushed her hair out of her face and kept her hand on the top of her head as she let out a yawn. "I don't know," she mumbled after the yawn had passed, and she jumped when Bane let out a loud, booming laugh through the respirator of his mask.

"Well for your sake, let's hope you do. Isaac bought food this morning, so if your smart you'll get up and eat something. _Now_," he added with a slight growl, and Jenna watched as he turned to exit the room, a shock running up her spine when she noticed he wore _another _tight black shirt. Only it was worse this time around... much worse. Long sleeves did not cover his arms, and instead they were entirely exposed under the short sleeves of a t-shirt. Jenna stared at them, her eyes roaming down the thick muscles of his upper arms and forearms as he strutted out of the room, and she closed her eyes, angry at herself, once he rounded the corner. Those shocks had not ceased, and the room began to spin as she threw off the blanket before standing up. She wanted to yell and scream at herself for being so stupid, but what was the point? She knew that would not help anything.

She marched out of her room, not completely sure of where she was going, but the second the smell of some sort of food hit her nostrils, she paused, her stomach clenching in pure hunger as she realized finally it had been a couple days since she had last had something to eat.

"Hey, you hungry?" Came Isaac's voice beside her, and she turned to look at him before watching as he took a large bite from some sort of sandwich.

"No," Jenna lied, but her stomach growling loudly told Isaac otherwise. He shrugged.

"Starve then," he said before he wandered away from her, and Jenna's eyes followed his back before she inhaled more of the delicious aroma. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was eating in front of people, but as her stomach growled again she knew she'd have no choice. She glanced up to the stairs, noticing that the two men who had previously wandered up there were now coming back down with food of their own, so figuring it was upstairs she started over to them. But once she reached the counter near the bathroom door where the rest of the food remained in the McDonald's bags they had been purchased in, she instantly made a face when she noticed they were filled with nothing but disgusting breakfast sandwiches. She glanced at the clock, eight twenty four, and frowned as her stomach grumbled. She began to dig through the bag, and she felt a small sense of relief as she pulled out three hash browns. She knew they would do nothing to satisfy her hunger, but Bane's orders, Isaac's logic, and her hunger made her take a bite. She rolled her eyes to herself as she started back to the stairs when she realized that she, too, was now following Bane's orders, and she shook her head to herself once she reached the bottom of the stairs.

She started over to her room, wanting to eat in solitude, but as she started past Bane and his door, his reached out to stop her with his arm, and she glanced up to him just as she had swallowed. He stared at her firmly as he shook his head, understanding where she had been going, and with a pout she stepped back to stand next to him. She leaned against the wall as she used her free hand to pick off a section of her hash-brown rather than biting it, and she put the small piece in her mouth and chewed it slowly as her eyes wandered over the various henchmen who were scarfing down their food like pigs. A thought occurred to her suddenly, and she stole a glance up at Bane. He stood with his feet shoulder length apart, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed blankly ahead as he waited, and though another shock ran up her spine at the site of his muscles, she had to wonder... how did he eat?

That mask obstructed his mouth completely, and she wondered if he could take it off. Even more importantly, why did he wear that mask anyway? What purpose did it serve? So far she had only ever seen him with it on, and as she stared at it it only heightened her curiosity. However, when Bane turned his head to look down at her, she quickly glanced away, her heart dropping to her stomach, and she picked off another piece of her second hash-brown, deciding if she could work up the courage later, if or _when _they were alone, she would ask him about it. If was only fair, right? Bane could ask her any question he wanted and expect an answer, so why couldn't she?

A few moments later, after she had finished eating, Bane ordered her back to her room to change into something she "could easily move in". Still starving, she closed the door behind her before she began to rummage through her bag. Minutes later, she emerged from her room again, and Bane glanced over at her when he saw her in the corner of his eye. He wished quickly that he hadn't glanced over, however, for he could not stop his eyes from wandering over her body. She wore tight, black leggings, and a long, red shirt over it that ended just past her ass, and the material was _barely _see-through. On her feet, she wore black boots that ended just below her knee, and as she made her way over to Bane his eyes slowly wandered back up her body until he was looking into her eyes, and a small dizzy spell overcame him when he realized she had witnessed his eye movements.

She stared back at him, those shocks staring up again due to witnessing his eyes wander all over her body, and he looked slightly furious now as once she approached him. She swallowed as she stared up at him. "Is... is this... okay?" She asked, unable to help but feel a little nervous that he was angry with her over her choice of clothes. She certainly did stand out; while everyone else wore black or gray shirts, cargo or army pants and thick, heavy combat boots, she appeared as though she was ready to hit the club. But these were the only clothes she had that allowed her to move around easily, which is what Bane _had_ specified.

She watched now as he blinked, that angry look going away temporarily, and he nodded firmly at her.

"It certainly calls attention to yourself, but for the sake of today this can be excused. For the future, however–" he paused, and Jenna held her breath as he reached out to take the lower hem of her shirt in between his fingers, and he gently pulled it out. "–you'll have to invest in something a little more... coordinated, to the rest of us." He let go of the material, and it snapped back against her hips, and she couldn't help but to flinch.

"But here's where she complains that cargo pants and combat boots aren't her _style_," Isaac suddenly chimed in as he walked past, and Jenna turned to glare at him while Bane chuckled at his side comment.

"That won't matter," he spoke loudly as he started to follow Isaac, Jenna following the both of them now. "It's not her decision to make."

Frowning, Jenna followed them up the stairs and out of the exit door, and the conversation died down as they made their way to the vehicles. Jenna watched as the vast amount of Bane's henchmen loaded themselves into the trucks, and she stopped behind Bane, unsure of where she was supposed to be going. She watched as Bane got into one of the larger, square-shaped vehicles, and right before she could step up to it, Isaac grabbed her arm and led her toward his own lifted pick-up truck.

"You're coming with me," he told her once they approached the passenger side door, and Jenna opened it before climbing inside. Once Isaac closed his own door behind him, he wasted no time with starting the truck to instantly start off of the warehouse's property.

"What's the plan?" Jenna asked him as she kept her gaze focused out of the window.

"You, me, and a few others will follow you up to the security room, which I'm assuming you know the location of, correct?"

"Yes," Jenna answered flatly.

"We take out the system, then meet Bane and rest the in the back. We'll secure the main floor, and you'll proceed to lead us to the weapons warehouse underground."

Jenna swallowed, wishing she didn't have to be a part of this. Her mind was picturing the worst, and she didn't even want to know what Bane's plans were with her father's weapons. They were high tech machinery, and unlike anything any normal citizen had seen before. Long ago her father had explained the function of some of them that at the time were still being developed, and she remembered as a child thinking how crazy and made-up they sounded. But she had seen prototypes of these weapons, and she knew by now they were well past this stage. She let out a quiet shaky breath as she brought her feet onto the seat to wrap her arms around her legs, and Isaac glanced over to her before he looked back over to the road, four other truck-fulls of dangerous henchmen following behind in a neat row.

The ride to her father's largest dealership went by quicker than Jenna had hoped, and before she knew it, Isaac was swinging the truck around in the parking lot to park a few rows in front of the building. Jenna watched in her side view mirror as six or seven other henchmen jumped out of the truck that had parked behind Isaac while the other two vehicles headed around back. As the men secured their weapons under jacket's and shirts, hidden from view, Jenna lowered her feet and glanced over to Isaac as he did the same.

"Aren't you scared of drawing too much attention to yourself?"

He laughed, not bothering to look over at her. "You're asking _me _about attention?" He asked as he finally glanced over to her, nodding at her outfit. Jenna rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean _look_ at you all. Everyone is going to know that something is going on."

"By the time they figure out _what _is going on," Isaac started as he opened the door, and he looked over to her. "It'll be too late." He grinned at her, bouncing his eyebrows up and down once before he jumped out of his truck, Jenna doing the same, and she sucked in a deep breath as her and Bane's crew started toward the front of the building.

The main floors of the dealership were barely crowded, with just a few people looking at the cars inside while a couple others were sitting at the desks of salesmen. Donna, the main receptionist lady who Jenna had met a few times, glanced up, her eyes instantly finding Jenna's when she glanced over, and she smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Jenna," she called out. "You're visiting awfully... early..." Donna trailed off as her eyes roamed down the group of alike men following her, and Jenna just nodded as she continued on toward the back. Donna started to stand up. "Do you... have business with your father today? Because he's not in the office yet," she went on, sounding more worried and confused as she went on. But Jenna continued to sadly ignore her, and she quickened her pace, Isaac and rest following her actions.

Donna remained behind her desk as she watched Jenna led the rest toward the back, and her eyebrows furrowed once the group rounded the corner toward the stairs that led to the security room. Her heart beginning to pound, she instantly turned toward her phone, picked it up, and dialed the four digit security number of the building.

"Ben?" She asked once the head of security had answered. "I-I think something bad is about to happen..."

"_Bad_?" Ben asked on the other end, sounding annoyed. _"What do you mean, Donna?"_

"Mr. Silvera's daughter and a ton of guys just started up to the security room.. I-I think-"

She trailed off when Ben suddenly hung up, and right when she glanced up again a gunshot in the distance suddenly echoed throughout the building, and just when the violent jump and shutter had passed her body, loads of other men dressed like the ones who had been following Jenna suddenly poured into the rest of the building, large machine guns in each of their hands. Donna screamed along with the rest of the customers as she ducked behind her desk when more gunshots echoed through the large room, and she closed her eyes tightly as she curled her body into a tight, terrified ball.

Taking out the security room went quicker than Jenna had expected. The head of the security, a nice but very stuck up man named Ben had instantly left the lone room in front of them, and he didn't stand a chance once Isaac instantly fired a round into his head. Jenna had screamed slightly and jumped at the surprise, and she tried to catch her breath as Isaac pushed her forward. She stopped at the door, however, and crossed her arms over her chest as the men piled into the room, and she closed her eyes tightly as more gunshots fired around in the room and down below. It was over all within a matter of a minute, and once it grew silent upstairs and down, Jenna opened her eyes and glanced into the blood-soaked room, and rather than focusing her attention on the few dead security men, she noticed all the monitors and controls had been fired upon, and once Isaac exited the room behind the others he grinned at her before he started back for the stairs, Jenna following with shaking legs behind him.

The entire show room had been secured by the men who had entered behind them, and Jenna glanced around at the lifeless people sprawled down on the floor, swallowing when Isaac pushed her ahead of him

"Lead the way," he said, and Jenna clenched her hands into fists as she started toward the back on the opposite side of the cars salesmen's desks, toward the stairs that would lead them toward the underground weapon's warehouse.

Their first pit stop was at the back door, the glowing exit sign nearly blinding as Jenna glanced up to it, and she waited as Isaac pushed open the door to let Bane and the rest of his crew inside.

"The showroom is secure and the security room has been taken out," Isaac informed Bane as he stepped inside, and Jenna's eyes roamed up his body until she found his obstructed face.

"You never disappoint," Bane complimented as his eyes searched for Jenna, and once he found her small frame in the back of everybody, he held out his hand, motioning for her to step over to him. "C'mon," he said cheerfully to her in that machine-like voice. "The faster we do this the faster we can go home."

Jenna swallowed once she approached him, and though for some reason she had been expecting him to gently place his hand on her back to lead her in front of him, her flinch was more exaggerated when he took a firm hold of her upper arm to force her to walk next to him in the front. She gritted her teeth as the rest of her arm dangled lamely in front of her, Bane's crushing force from his fingers sure to leave bruises, and she took in a deep, steadying breath as she tried to keep up with his quick pace.

Not before long they reached the first door that led to the basement, and Jenna stopped along with Bane, not bothering to look at him as he reached into his pocket to bring out her father's ID card. He scanned it under the scanner near the door, and Jenna kept her eyes focused on the ground as the door opened before she was tugged along into the hallway. Her heart started to race, and she allowed herself to focus on her worrisome thoughts rather than focusing on the spurts of pain that were shooting up and down her arm under Bane's crushing force.

As they continued on, and as Jenna listened to the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor and cargo pants material rubbing together noisily, Jenna sadly glanced up to the cameras that were littered on the ceiling, wishing the security inside the weapons warehouse could see what was coming, but she knew this was impossible. Isaac had destroyed the entire camera system, thus shutting down all the security in the entire building. She thought to herself the layout of the warehouse and estimated who would be there, and how many of them there would be. There were usually ten to fifteen security men who wandered about the facility and kept an eye on the cameras, but Jenna knew they would not stand a chance against Bane's army, who as they followed her and Bane, Jenna had to guess there was over twenty of them. The workers would be defenseless. They worked in a weapons warehouse, surrounded by artillery, yet by the time they realized what was going on, it would be too late, and they would be unable to defend themselves.

As the large door approached, Jenna let out a sigh as she bowed her head, and she jumped a second later when Bane tugged her forward again, Jenna not realizing she had started to slow behind. Her teeth gritted now, her jaw clenched so tightly it was starting to hurt her head, without thinking she tried to rip her arm free from Bane's grasp. But it proved useless however, just like she figured it would, and Bane glanced down to her. When she looked up at him, she cowered back immediately, able to tell Bane had gone in full mission mode, his eyes determined and fierce, and a simple look was all he had to give her before Jenna finally allowed herself to be tugged along and forced to try and forget her anger. It wasn't fair. Sure she could be considered a hostage, but what gave Bane the right to just _control _her like that? Jenna shook her head to herself. It was a stupid question, hostages never had the upper hand, but Jenna couldn't help to feel like her situation was more unique. With her, Bane was not about murder threats and torture, at least not yet, and because of this, being treated like an actual hostage, or even a _child_, got under Jenna's skin more than it should have. But she couldn't help but to be annoyed. She didn't _want_ to fear him, and although she did slightly, she was still determined not to let it show. So with her eyes focused dead ahead of her, she tried once more to free her arm, struggling not to flinch when Bane tightened his grip out of annoyance, and right when they reached the large door to the warehouse she gasped when Bane tugged her closer to himself. When she turned her head she saw he was glaring directly at her, and still determined not to let her fear show, she forced herself to glare right back.

"Stay out of the way," Bane murmured harshly to her, and Jenna's eyebrows widened when he suddenly let go of her arm, the release causing the most intense pain yet. Jenna's hand instantly flew up to hold her throbbing upper arm while Bane swiftly turned away from her to step over toward the ID scanner, and her eyes went from staring at him to glancing over the army as they readied their weapons. Still surprised she had actually gotten Bane to let go of her arm, she still found herself following his orders when she stepped backwards to stand near the wall on the side of the door, out of the way for the army to run inside. She felt dizzy when she realized this, so with an annoyed deep breath in, she told herself she had _only _stepped out of the way so she wouldn't get trampled. She was not listening to Bane, she was merely using her own common sense to better benefit _her_, not him.

The sound of the automated door opening seemed louder than ever, and Jenna found herself holding her breath and sliding her eyes closed as soon as the first steps toward the warehouse began. Following Bane, the men entered quickly, and Jenna couldn't help but to jump when the first gunshots were fired, and she wondered sadly to herself who had died already. Maybe, hopefully, it was someone on Bane's side. Perhaps there would be hope after all. Maybe the security would pull through; Bane's army would be wiped out, Bane included, and Jenna would be free. An odd pang that rang through her heart at her thoughts suddenly caused her eyes to snap open, a shock running up her spine, and with a grunt she leaned off of the wall to peer inside the warehouse.

In just a matter of seconds all hope was lost. Directly in front of her, five security guards lay in the puddles of their own fresh blood, and her stomach dropped at the site. Swallowing, she glanced up to stare directly down the first large aisle of weapons, all wrapped and ready to either be shipped or tested, she froze when her eyes suddenly found Bane. Her lips parted slightly as she stared at his tall, intimidating frame, and she barely comprehended that her uncle, co-manager of her dad's business, was struggling against him. Muscles flexed, Bane easily turned her uncle around, and she jumped when he suddenly slammed his head down on the metal table, her uncle falling like a ton of bricks onto the floor. She had taken a small step back at this, and she jumped again when she watched as Bane kicked her uncle's body out of the way like he was nothing more than a useless rag doll, and weight nothing more than one as well. A sick feeling crept onto Jenna as she remembered her vow of not letting anyone else close to her die, and as she stared at her uncles suffering frame, she realized that already, in just _one day_, she had broken that vow...

The doors starting to close suddenly tore her away from her thoughts, and she absentmindedly rushed inside the warehouse as to not be locked out, and she found it astonishing that all she had just done and witnessed all happened within a matter of a seconds, the amount of the time the door stayed open. She quickly stepped back out of the way as one of the henchmen came charging past her, and her heart began to race faster as more gunshots echoed throughout the warehouse. Screams of the female workers echoed off the walls, and all the commotion was near deafening as Jenna hopelessly stood there. She had lost site of Bane, something she was actually grateful for, and she crossed her arms over her chest, flinching at the pain her upper arm gave out.

It seemed it was all over in a matter of minutes. The entire staff of the warehouse had been wiped out, and with their free pick of futuristic and diverse weapons loaded, it seemed as though it was time to go already. But Isaac running up to her with an incredibly dangerous task in mind for her was all it took for Jenna's troubled thoughts and feelings to intensify by one-hundred and ten percent. Before she could fathom what was going on, he suddenly tossed her the keys to his truck.

"Take my truck and pull it around back," he commanded quickly, but before he could go on Jenna was instantly shaking her head.

"No!" She replied loudly and firmly as she took a step back, only to jump with a flinch when Isaac reached out to take a firm hold of her upper arms.

"_Now_, Jenna!" He yelled at her, and after turning her around he shoved her toward the door. Jenna quickly caught her footing, and when she nervously glanced over her shoulder she saw Isaac was gone. Swallowing, Jenna pushed the button to open the door, and right when it had opened enough for her to slip past, she allowed her shaking legs to carry her out of the door before she broke into a sprint down the hall. The task Isaac had given her was the most dangerous and scariest task anyone could have given her. Why? Jenna had never learned how to drive...

Her heart threatened to burst from her chest as she ran, her breathing slow and even as she started up the stairs to main showroom of the dealership. At the moment she was not focusing on the fact that here she was, following orders yet again, or even the fact that Isaac, and perhaps even Bane, had trusted her to do this, trusting that she would not drive his car away to safety and freedom. No, Jenna was worried on actually _driving_ the truck. Was it even an automatic? Jenna wanted to cry.

She tried to ignore the site of all the dead bodies littered in the show room as she rushed toward the main doors, trying to remember where Isaac had parked. Unfortunately, his truck was in plain view in the parking lot, and Jenna ran right up to it, stopping near the door at a sudden halt to unlock it. Heart still racing, she climbed into the truck, growing relieved when she saw the truck was not a manual, and with a shaking hand she struggled to stick the key in the ignition. The truck roared loudly to life once she turned it, and with a large swallow she put the truck in gear, reminding herself frantically the 'D' meant drive, and she held her breath as she gently pushed her foot down on the gas pedal to start to drive through the open parking space in front of her. But what she thought had been gentle was not gentle at all, and she screamed as the truck lurched forward, heading directly toward the curb. Her body trembling, she immediately turned the wheel, her body being thrown to the left as she just barely missed hitting the curb, and she slammed on the brakes once the truck was facing straight again, ready to head to the back. A disgustingly strong shudder ran up her back when she heard a loud and heavy scratching sound erupt from the passenger side of the truck, and only when the alarm of another car started to go off, and after she had frantically glanced out of the passenger side window, did she realize she had rubbed Isaac's truck directly against another parked car. Her mouth fell open as she jerked the truck to a sudden stop, just wanting to melt into a puddle and slip away under the floor-mats and hide forever, but when she saw the back door burst open suddenly she was reminded of her task, and she accidentally floored the truck toward it.

Other henchmen were pouring out of the door and heading to their own vehicles, and after putting the truck in park, Jenna thinking _'P' for park _as she did it, she immediately scooted her shaking body over to the passenger side, deciding there was no way in hell she was driving anywhere else ever again. Her body was still shaking violently when she saw Bane suddenly come forth out of the door, and she watched as he tossed a large bag at another henchmen who had run out the door behind him. The man caught it swiftly and headed toward one of the large square vehicles while Bane instantly started toward the running truck, parked a good twenty feet from the door. He threw open the driver door and instantly pushed the seat forward to climb into the back, and only once Isaac, the last one out of the building, ran toward his truck, did Bane finally notice how badly Jenna was shaking. Closing the door behind him, Isaac instantly threw the truck into gear and bolted out of the parking lot. Jenna hugged her legs on the seat as she stared at the floor, her body noticeably trembling still with no sign of stopping, and Bane stared at her with furrowed eyebrows, wondering why she was so shook up suddenly. He knew he'd figure it out sooner or later, so with that final thought he glanced out of the window, deciding to just be happy with the fact this mission had gone quick and just as he had planned.

The ride back to the abandoned shipping warehouse had gone faster than the ride to her father's work, and for this Jenna was grateful. All she wanted was to shut herself up in the chair room and be alone, but unfortunately for her, Bane had other plans. As soon as Isaac had stopped the car, Jenna threw open her door and hopped out of the truck quickly, Bane right behind her, and she kept her arms crossed as she made a beeline directly toward the back door. She stepped inside behind one of the henchmen, who carried a large bag in his hand, and she remained silent as she quickly started down the stairs. Her actions were confusing to Bane, but nonetheless he continued to follow her. Right when Jenna had reached the chair room, she pushed open the door to step inside, but when she turned to slam it closed, she jumped when the door smacked against Bane's foot, and he gently kicked the door back open before he stepped inside. The room was dark, the only light coming from the main area of the basement to illuminate the room in a very dim light, and Jenna stared at him for a minute before she suddenly thought of her uncle's pain and Isaac's face when he discovered the large scratch on his truck, and she groaned to herself as she turned to head over to her cot.

"What's got you acting like this?" Bane asked as he took a step further into the room, and as Jenna rubbed her hands up her arms she glanced up to him. The movement of more henchmen heading down the stairs stole her attention, and she watched them for a moment before she glanced back up to Bane, and she shook her head as she glanced away.

"You killed my uncle," Jenna accused as she focused on the corner of the room, and she took in a deep breath through her nose before continuing on. "And I scratched Isaac's car..." she mumbled. She jumped when Bane let out a loud laugh, and she glanced back over to him, her eyes widening as a powerful shock ran up her spine while Bane stepped closer to the cot.

"That's all?" He questioned as he turned to sit next to her on it, and her heart began to race at his actions. "You barely tremble when you witness your parent's die... yet you grow terrified upon inflicting very minor damage on a vehicle. Doesn't that sound... absurd, even to you?"

Jenna frowned as she glanced down, able to see Bane's sitting frame next to her in the corner of her eye, and she closed them, wishing those shocks would stop tickling the back of her neck.

"No," she mumbled.

"What do you think he is going to do, Jenna? Kill you?" Bane asked as he stared at her. "Or just simply take the scratch out and drop the worthless issue."

It was clear that Bane found this issue as nothing more than humorous, and Jenna knew her thoughts on the matter _were_ irrational, but she could not stop herself from shaking. She ran her hands up her arms further, only to flinch when her hand wandered over her still painful upper arm, and she quickly lowered them as she leaned back slightly.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"Then sit here in the dark and cower in fear over something that will not happen," Bane replied with a sigh. "Like a _child_," he added with a hidden smirk, just to get under her skin.

"I'm not acting like a _child_," Jenna said suddenly before she could stop herself, and she turned to glare directly into Bane's eyes, which seemed to glow through the dim lighting.

"You grow so offended at that word," Bane stated as he stared back. "And I know why."

"Fuck off," Jenna spoke again before she could stop herself, and she felt her stomach drop at these daring words as she rolled her eyes to look away from him. But without thinking himself, Bane reached out swiftly to take a firm hold of her jaw, and he dug his fingers into her skin as he forced her to look back up at him. He felt Jenna jump at this, and her eyes widened as she was forced to stare back at him, her jaw already starting to throb.

"You allow yourself to get so offended because you know it's _true_," Bane explained as he absentmindedly leaned in slightly closer, and he maintained firm eye contact with her. The truth burned behind both of their eyes, and Bane was easily able to watch as realization flooded her gaze. But as he knew she would, she denied it.

"That's not true," she forced herself to say, but when she tired to glance away, Bane firmly forced her head back in his direction.

"Around here there will never be the time nor the place to let childish antics get in the way. Learn what's acceptable to worry about, and what is not. If you're so determined to live you'll start doing so."

Jenna continued to stare into his eyes as he did the same to her, and once he figured she would not saying anything smart or stupid back, he loosened his grip on her face, only to freeze suddenly when his fingers just barely and gently brushed against her skin. Jenna had frozen too, her body going cold and stiff, her eyes unable to look away from him, and a small shock ran up Bane's spine, the same feeling overwhelming him from the last time his fingers had made that type of contact with her skin. Only this time he did not angrily pull away, and instead curiosity got the best of him, something he had trained his mind never to allow. But it was too powerful this time around, the feeling brand new, and as Jenna stayed frozen, Bane allowed himself to curl his fingers, the tips of his calloused skin brushing gently against her soft face. Jenna's lips parted slightly as she sucked in a quiet, sharp breath, and the most powerful of all shocks ran up her spine and caused her to shudder slightly as she went lightheaded, her vision blurring around the edges. Bane was staring at her lips or cheek, she was unsure which, and she released the breath she had drawn in when Bane uncurled his fingers, his fingers running against her skin again, and the lightheaded feeling grew stronger when Bane finally removed his hand from her face, allowing his fingers to slid down her face gently. Her skin was flawless, and by far the softest element Bane had ever felt, and once his hand was lowered, realization of what he had just done slammed into his mind. But he did not let himself get angry, and instead he remained staring into her electric aqua eyes for a moment longer before he finally stood to exit the room. Jenna focused on trying not to pass out as she listened to Bane's heavy footsteps head toward the open door, but right before he could exit she quickly turned her head in his direction, able to still feel where his fingertips had been.

"Wait," she said suddenly, and Bane halted in the doorway. "Can I shower?"

"I don't know," Bane returned in a slightly humorous tone, a tone that Jenna had not expected him to have after _that_, whatever it had been, and he glanced at her from over his shoulder. "_Can _you?"

Jenna frowned. "What am I supposed to say, _may I_?"

"You don't have to say anything," Bane answered. "There's nothing stopping you from carrying out normal human necessities. Do what you need to do." Without another word Bane finally stepped out of the room, and Jenna watched with furrowed eyebrows as he disappeared into the depths of the basement.

Her heart was racing faster than it had been when she was forced to drive Isaac's truck, and suddenly that issue was no longer important for the time being. Instead, as she unzipped her suitcase with shaking hands to take out her toiletries and a change of clothes, all she could focus on was wondering what the _fuck _had just happened.

After traveling up the stairs and entering the bathroom, she closed and locked the door before she turned to head over to the rather nice shower in the grungy bathroom, figuring it was something had been installed not too long ago. She set her items down on the closed toilet lid, and instead of worrying about a towel she stood near the shower, frozen, thinking back to Bane's actions. When he had first taken her, his fingers had brushed against her skin as well, but that had been nothing more than an accident. This time around, he had allowed himself to do purposely, and Jenna hated herself for allowing those shocks to consume her as she gave into those strange feelings. But she raised her head up slightly as a new found thought entered her mind suddenly. Whatever strange and inappropriate emotions she was feeling toward him as her situation unfolded, Bane was feeling them too...

Jenna might as well have been a zombie as she showered, the hot water welcoming as she washed the absolute hell out of her hair with her favorite brand of shampoo she was fortunate to have taken with her. Her face remained emotionless as she inattentively carried out all of her shower's tasks, and the entire time all she could focus on was the feel of Bane's fingers. The were rough, calloused, and even when he was being gentle, firm, but yet, as they brushed against her, they were soft in their own way, and unlike anything Jenna had ever felt herself. She knew she would never be able to pinpoint or decide the logic behind the action, but as she rinsed her smooth and hairless body free of soap, she was of two minds on the outcome. Her body, her worst enemy at the moment, wanted to actually _enjoy _the feeling, though at the same time her mind was ready to murder her for even considering it. Her mind and body agreed on one thing, however, and the thought scared her more than any murder threat or another driving experience ever could: Bane's large and thick muscles haunted her thoughts nearly every minute of every day and night, and now, more than ever, she wanted to actually _know _how they felt in her own hands.

As she shut off the shower, the desire to touch him angered and confused her, but not enough for her to talk herself out of it. Her situation was so unique to the point of it confusing the absolute fuck out of her. Why didn't Bane want to kill her? What uses did he think she would serve to him? Why did Jenna allow herself to stick around, deciding death would be worse than all of _this, _and why were they both experiencing these feelings? Sure her life before had been just as shitty as her situation now, but at least it hadn't been confusing or too unpredictable.

Due to the lack of having a towel, Jenna dabbed the water droplets from her body with her old shirt before dressing in a clean pair of gray, baggy sweatpants and a black spaghetti strap, where the bottom of the shirt ended right at her bellybutton. This shirt used to show off her bellybutton ring perfectly, but those days were dead and gone, and with this thought Jenna reached up to her eyebrow, her finger running over the healing hole on her skin. She frowned, but she knew this was the least of her problems now.

Her heart began to race slightly as she opened the bathroom door to head back into the basement. She was scared suddenly of seeing Bane again, unsure now more than ever what to expect. But fortunately, Bane was nowhere in site, and after she dropped her dirty clothes off in the chair room, she grabbed a cigarette from her pack and a lighter, and started out of the basement and toward the exit door.

As soon as she stepped into the cool, crisp air, the sun hiding behind a thick mass of clouds, Jenna suddenly remembered the damage she had caused on Isaac's car, and a shock ran up her spine when she noticed he had parked his car inside the large garage. She lit her cigarette before cautiously stepping down the stairs to peer inside the garage. She blew out the smoke slowly when her eyes found Isaac squatting down in front of the passenger side of the truck, and her stomach dropped slightly as her eyes ran over the long, thick scratch on the door, the mark ruining the flawlessness of the black paint on the rest of the vehicle. Isaac glanced over to her suddenly, and she took a small step back when she saw the angry look in his eye.

"How the _fuck _did this happen?" Isaac asked as he stared at her, though his tone was not as bitter as Jenna had been expecting.

"I-I don't know," she said. Isaac continued to stare into her nervous eyes, and suddenly he remembered the previous thought that had occurred to him once he had first noticed the scratch. He grinned suddenly as he looked back to the scratch, his action confusing Jenna, and Isaac finally spoke when he glanced back to her with that same smirk.

"You don't know how to drive, do you?"

Her face was easy to read, Isaac didn't need her to answer, but regardless Jenna rolled her eyes and looked away as she took another drag of her cigarette.

"I never had the need to learn."

Isaac laughed. "Oh, that's right," he said as he stood up from the ground now. "There was always a limo ready to take you anywhere you wanted." He turned to step over to the work bench to grab the tools he'd need to buffer out the scratch, and he grinned again when another thought popped into his mind. "Doesn't that bother you?" He asked, turning to glance over at her again. "Being twenty-three years old and unable to drive a car?"

Jenna shrugged. "I guess not."

Isaac laughed again and shook his head. "That'll have to change then," he said as he turned around to head back over to the truck, foreign tools being carried in his arms. "Eventually _you're_ going to have to drive."

"What makes you think I'll be around long enough for that to happen?" Jenna asked as she stepped closer to the garage now.

Isaac shrugged. "I'm sure you will be," he answered.

Unfortunately, Jenna figured she would be too. If it hadn't been for Bane's actions, this thought would cause Jenna to go into full-on worry mode, but her thoughts were still primarily focused on what had happened only half an hour ago in the chair room. The thoughts caused another shudder to run down her spine, and now more than ever she did not want to see Bane. So instead, she stepped into the garage and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs in front of her, and she glanced up to Isaac when he glanced over to her. He said nothing, however, and merely grinned as he looked back to his truck while Jenna took another drag of her cigarette, figuring spending time with Isaac at the moment would not be a bad idea, as long as it kept her away from seeing Bane...

**So excited to have updated this week! College has been kicking my ass and keeping me from my true passions... But as always, I can't thank you enough for the reviews, alerts and favorites guys, so PLEASE keep it up! Leave me your thoughts! **


	7. It Gets Worse

In time, sitting outside with Isaac as he proceeded with the incredibly boring-to-watch task of taking the scratch off his truck grew annoying when other henchmen joined them outside for cigarettes. Eventually, Jenna grew sick of the snide comments and glares directed firmly at her, and seeing as how her and Isaac's conversation had died down long ago, she figured it was time to face her fears and go back inside.

She had stepped through the exit door cautiously, peering down the stairs before she slowly descended them. She had glanced around the corner, her eyes instantly searching for Bane, but when she noticed he was nowhere in sight and his door was closed, she quickly scurried toward the chair room and closed and locked the door with a record speed. Her heart immediately started to pound out of pure nervousness once thoughts of what Bane had done entered her mind, and with a small whimper she had collapsed onto the cot to close her eyes and try to clear her mind.

The day passed quickly, and during the time not one second was gracious enough to offer her something else to think about. As Jenna went from sitting alone in the chair room to sneaking back outside for a smoke, she could still clearly picture the moment between her and Bane. She could recall the look in his eyes with pure accuracy, they way her heart had been racing, and she remembered the feel of his fingers on her skin so well, it felt as though they were still lingering gently on her face. Just these thoughts alone caused her heart to pound, shocks to run up and down her spine, and more often than not she caught herself biting her bottom lip as she thought back to it.

"The fuck are you thinking about?" Isaac had asked the third time Jenna had gone outside for a cigarette. It was nearly five o' clock by then. Isaac had finished with his own truck and had gone back to working on the black car with the removed flat tire, which Jenna had learned was a 2012 Dodge Challenger... _whatever the fuck that means_, she had sourly thought to herself after Isaac informed her.

"Nothing," she had replied quickly –too quickly– and Isaac caught the way she had swiftly glanced away to take a long drag from her cigarette.

"Okay..." he started slowly, and Jenna glanced back at him, staring at the grease stains that covered his face. "That's bullshit. What's the truth?"

"The truth is you have no business knowing," Jenna retorted, glaring into his eyes. Isaac immediately grinned, and he shook his head as he glanced away.

"Well, I can tell whatever it is, it's eating you inside. It's funny to watch," he added, glancing back up at her, and his grin widened when he noticed Jenna had glanced down, and was yet again biting her bottom lip. She had quickly released her lip as she glanced back up at him, and with a roll of her eyes she put her half finished cigarette out and turned to storm back to the door. _He's wrong_, she thought to herself.

But yet, he was so _right_. Her thoughts were beginning to drive her crazy. Between thinking back to the moment and dealing with her own sick desires to touch _him_, Jenna knew she had to make herself stop. She felt the oddest combination of emotions the more she thought of it: fear, nervousness, confusion, curiosity, and dare she admit, the want for it to happen again?

_Ugh, fuck no!_ She thought angrily to herself now as she stretched her legs out, her shoes scraping against the pavement outside in front of the garage. Isaac, who had just finished with replacing the last, brand new tire on the Challenger, glanced over to her, but once he caught site of her frustrated face –the expression she had been wearing the entire half hour she had been out there– he uninterestedly glanced away. Jenna had made it clear a while ago she was not going to share what was on her mind, and since the majority of Isaac really didn't care anyway, he let the issue go and ignored her as he continued to work on the car.

Jenna took a long, angry drag from her third cigarette as she shook her head, completely furious, disappointed and disgusted with herself for not only feeling that way, but admitting it as well. She wanted that moment to happen _again_? The fuck was wrong with her! It was immoral, it was horrid, and it was so wrong. Bane was not a person in which she should be feeling this way with. He was a heartless, giant monster who cared about nothing other than himself and his own operations... wasn't he? _Yes_, Jenna confirmed sourly to herself. He had put her in a horrible position to aid with a crime, he had lied to her, he had kidnapped her, and he had killed everything she had ever known in a matter of twenty-four hours. He left her alone and cold in the unfamiliar and unpredictable, and she knew he couldn't care less. He _enjoyed _it, and he wanted nothing more than to make her even more miserable. Maybe death wouldn't be so bad at this point...

Jenna closed her eyes tightly as she shook her head again. She didn't know what to believe anymore. A simple action that hadn't lasted more than a minute had her mind going at a million miles an hour and questioning her sanity. But yet, the lingering thoughts of her wanting to return the action never went away, and with a deep breath she allowed her mind to try and picture herself touching him. She sat there for a minute, trying to picture the images as the moment unfolded, but she just couldn't. All she could see was Bane standing there, in that black t-shirt, and her standing in front of him, staring into his eyes, but the scene never started playing. She wanted to do it, that she could no longer deny, but she could not imagine it. The scene in her mind was on pause.

_Maybe that's a good thing_, she thought to herself. Perhaps her inability to picture herself performing the desire was a sign that it wasn't meant to happen, and it _shouldn't_ happen. But on the other hand, not being able to picture it only made her want to do it _more_. So what did she go with? Her logic, or her gut instinct...?

Her cigarette had burnt out before she could finish it, and with a sigh she tossed it away from herself. The air around her had grown incredibly cold, and as she stood up a freezing gust of wind blew past her, lifting her hair to be blown in her face, and she angrily grabbed it before gathering it behind her head to hold it behind her at the base of her neck. She clenched her teeth together –both in frustration over her feelings and her sudden freezing state– and she jogged up the stairs quickly before throwing open the exit door to step inside. It was warm on the main level, but the temperature decreased noticeably as she descended further into the basement, and before she knew it was freezing again. She hugged her arms around herself as she headed toward the chair room, able to hear someone talking in the distance.

_"...unknown, underground warehouse of artillery was robbed today, leaving over thirty people dead and five wounded."_

She realized finally it was a TV, the channel on the news covering the events at her father's dealership that day, but she remained uninterested as she continued on to her room. She had actually witnessed everything, there was no need to hear about it.

_"Donna Dales, the receptionist at the dealership, managed to escape the horrific robbery, __getting away unharmed, but she quotes 'the emotional toll left her hurting more than any gunshot wound ever could have'. Here's what she had to say about the situation..."_

Jenna hadn't even noticed Bane's door was wide open until after she started to walk past it. When she heard Donna's voice come through the speakers, she casually glanced into Bane's room at the giant TV above an old, wooden desk, but just before she could completely walk past the room her breath hitched in her throat, and the room began to spin as she stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes refused to tear away from Bane's form on the ground as he proceeded with doing push-ups, and her heart dropped to her stomach when she finally realized he was shirtless and wearing a pair of baggy, black sweat pants low on his hips...

She watched him push himself up and down easily, his muscles flexed fully, and her vision blurred slightly as her eyes roamed down his muscular back. A shock ran up her spine when her eyes caught sight of a terrifying looking, raised scar that traveled all the way down his spine, but before she could even confirm what she had seen, Bane started to stand from the ground. His eyes caught sight of her just as she forced her eyes to look back up at his face, her aqua orbs catching site of the faint outline of a six pack on his stomach, and she swallowed as he stared at her. Her face instantly began to redden, and suddenly she felt as though she could not move, though she desperately wanted nothing more than to run away and just cry at the moment. It wasn't fair.

Hundreds of things Bane could say to her at that moment formed in his head, but with a mindless decision he picked something that completely strayed off topic of what Jenna had just seen, and the emotion that was clear on her face.

"You were mentioned on the news," Bane said in a higher-pitched mumble, and Jenna blinked as she glanced down to the ground, completely thrown off by his comment.

"G-guess I dyed my hair for nothing," she returned, and she closed her eyes tightly. How dumber could she have sounded?

"Then I guess we'll have to take it a step further," Bane said as he turned around to head over to his desk. Jenna glanced up at him again, a freezing cold shock running up her spine when her eyes found the thick muscles on his back and that horrid scar again, and without thinking she took a step closer to the room to stand under the door frame.

"Like what, plastic surgery?" She offered with a cocked eyebrow, trying to make her mind focus on the topic at hand. But what she couldn't understand was why was she still standing there talking to him.

"N-oo," Bane answered in that muffled, accented voice, and he turned back around to glance at her. "I was thinking something more like... a hammer to the face." At this point, that didn't sound like a bad idea. But at the same time, Bane felt like taking a hammer to his own face due to the _ridiculous_ shocks that were running up his own spine. He let out a large breath as he turned to face his bed, and he picked up a folder filled with papers on it before he started to turn to place them on his desk.

"At this point that would be pretty welcoming," Jenna mumbled, thinking it had only been to herself, but Bane had heard, and when Jenna heard the folder slam down onto the desk, she quickly looked up to see that he was staring at her. It was evident that he had heard, and though Jenna swallowed nervously, she held her ground, only to let out the breath she had been holding when Bane merely grinned before turning back around. Her eyes naturally wandered down his back again, taking in the dips and curves of the muscles that covered it, and she absentmindedly found herself biting her lip again, her teeth sinking into the skin harder and harder until the pain finally caused her to snap out of her daze. Emotions swelled up inside of her, threatening to burst in a horrific action of expressing truth, and Jenna swallowed her words back. The desire to touch and feel his own skin had suddenly increased by a thousand percent, and Jenna fought with herself as she continued to lamely stand there. Her mind was furiously shouting at her, saying she should turn around right now and head into the chair room and force herself to leave her feelings at Bane's door, but her body would not let her move. It was frozen where it stood, and Jenna knew that until she did what she so desperately wanted to do, it would not listen to her mind. It was always body over mind with Jenna, never mind over body.

"I have a question," Jenna suddenly said, her words surprising not only herself, but Bane as well, and he raised his eyebrows as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"I don't have an answer," he replied, his tone careless, though his curiosity grew. The last thing he saw was Jenna frown before he turned around, and he grew even more surprised when he heard her step into his room, her shoe scrapping against the concrete.

"That's not fair," Jenna spoke quickly without thinking, and she forced her eyes to remain focused on the back of his mask. "You expect an answer from me for your stupid questions, so you can answer mine."

Her tone was biting, and it caused Bane to instantly turn around and glare into her eyes. "Oh really?" He asked as he took a step closer to her, watching as Jenna backed down slightly, and he proceeded with approaching her. "So you think _that's_ how it works?"

"What happened?" She finally forced herself to ask as she lowered her gaze to stare at his left hand that hung down by his thigh. "Back in my room today... What was that?"

She couldn't believe she had so bravely and firmly asked that question, and Bane couldn't help but to be just as surprised. She was more bold than he had calculated, and suddenly he had no idea what to say as he stared down at her. From behind his mask, his lips parted as he went slightly lightheaded, and suddenly he had no idea how to answer that question. He didn't even know what that had been all about. It was nothing more than curiosity getting the best of him. He blinked a long moment later when he finally realized he had his answer.

"That was nothing more than curiosity getting the best of me," he answered, and although he spoke the truth, Jenna could tell his tone carried another hidden meaning, though she knew he would never speak these words, whatever they were. She watched as his hand clenched into a lose fist, and she sucked in a sharp breath as she lifted her head to look up at him. He was staring at her, and after her eyes had met his, they slowly roamed down his thick neck to stare at his shoulder before wandering down his upper arm. He watched her eye movements, knowing very well what she was staring at, and suddenly she started to do something he had _never_, _ever_, anticipated her to do. But her body's desires had gotten the best of her, the emotions dissolving any logic left in her mind for the moment, reminding her that not only would these feelings go away until she did it, but it was also now or never. They were alone in the vast, cold, dark basement, and Jenna's body had reached a breaking point of curious desperation.

"What are you doing?" Bane questioned slowly, his eyes instantly dropping down to her hand as she began to lift it, and when his eyes found her face again he noticed she was still firmly staring at his arm.

"Feeding my own curiosity." The truth slipped out in a low whisper, her voice unable to speak any louder, and her heart raced and pounded against her chest so hard and fast she was sure she would experience a heart attack at any moment. But the second her own fingertips made contact with his skin, she sucked in a sharp, surprised breath as a strong shock ran up her back, and the lightheaded feeling she had been experiencing previously grew stronger. Normally, she would have been surprised over her confidence, but at the moment she could fathom nothing more than the feel of his skin. Her eyes remained focused on her hand, and her eyes followed her fingers movements as they gently slid down his upper arm and onto the top of his forearm. She had barely been able to feel any muscle, but his skin was soft and warm, something she had not been expecting, and her body froze again, not allowing her to take back her hand.

Her fingertips were cold, and they sent electrifying shocks from where her fingers had touched all the way throughout his body. The unwanted and unpredictable feeling caught Bane by intense surprise, and his mind shut down as he took a small step closer to her while he lifted his right hand to place it on her exposed hip. Jenna jumped at the impact, his hand hot, like fire, and more shocks ran up her spine as the room continued to spin. She felt Bane tighten his hold on her hip slightly, and suddenly a few found fire burned inside her, pushing her to feel his arm the way she had originally wanted. She flattened her hand on his forearm before she slowly roamed it upward, and a small sigh escaped past her newly parted lips as her palm and fingers wandered slowly up his arm, moving into the curves and dips of the muscles there. His arm felt even better than she had been expecting, and this scared her more than anything else had up until that point.

As her hand approached his shoulder, Bane curled his fingers back toward his palm, Jenna's skin on her hip just as smooth as her face had been, and just as cold at her hand. He felt Jenna sway forward slightly due to this action before she quickly caught her balance, and as her hand wandered closer to his shoulder he moved his own hand up, and his eyes slid closed when it wandered into the deep curve of her waist.

It seemed as though nothing else existed at that point, and Jenna felt as though her hand was glued to Bane's arm. She could feel his hand on her waist, his fingers just barely under the bottom of her shirt, and she couldn't tell if she had stopped breathing or not. She couldn't believe she had so easily fed her curiosity, so bravely at that, and she was sickened and upset over the emotions that took over her upon doing so. But Bane's actions in return only confirmed her theory: whatever these emotions she had been feeling and were experiencing now were, Bane _was_ feeling them too. But how was that possible, and even more important, what did that _mean_?

Jenna's hand had just reached his large, round shoulder when suddenly loud laughter and voices in the distance instantly broke through the thick tension, and as Bane's eyes snapped open they both took their hands back before Jenna jumped backwards, away from him. Her eyes instantly found his own, and they widened as reality and realization suddenly sunk in. She was still frozen as she stared at him, and Donna's voice on the news and Bane's henchmen's laughter all morphed into one noise.

_"I-I couldn't tell it was her at first, but it was definitely Mr. Silvera's daughter, I caught glimpse of her eyes. I...I knew something was wrong when she walked in, but I never expected any of that. Never."_

Jenna took in a sharp breath as her lips parted, the henchmen in the basement now behind her in the main area, and she listened as someone started to walk up behind her. Bane watched her lips close before parting again, her breath coming out in stuttering spurts. It seemed as though she wanted to say something, and he waited, unsure of what to say or expect himself, but after her face had started to redden again she immediately turned around, nearly bumping into Isaac who now stood in the doorway, and like a flash of lighting she had disappeared out of his view, the door to the chair room slamming shut a short second later.

Her breathing was shallow and her body shook as Jenna raised her hands to hold her head, trying to calm her nerves, and she stopped in the middle of the room, closing her eyes. Many thoughts vigorously fought to be the prominent topic, but Jenna's body would not allow her to focus on any one of them. How had that just so easily happened? Where did that confidence to actually do it come from? Why did Bane touch her back, again, and why did she... enjoy it?

With a whimper Jenna lowered her hands and turned around to plop down on the cot. She leaned over, placing her elbows on her knees so she could hold her head in her hands. While a small fraction of her felt satisfied over finally doing what she had been so desperate to too, she never expected the majority of her to be left feeling so confused and nearly desperate to do it again. This was ridiculous, and it was unfair. It wasn't right. She took in a deep breath through her nose. Her situation was already shitty as is, and she didn't need more reasons to make it even more so. She decided right there and then that she was through with letting herself think these thoughts and feel these emotions, and from here on out she would do everything in her power to _avoid _Bane. She couldn't think of anything else that would help...

In Bane's room, Isaac remained at the doorway, staring at Bane after he had turned around, and only after he stepped up to his desk did Isaac take a step into the room and open his mouth to speak.

"Mike confirmed the location of–"

"What am I going to do with the girl, Barsad?" Bane interrupted, his voice low and muffled, and his question caught Isaac off guard. Bane wasn't completely sure why he had asked Isaac that question, he knew the answer, or lack thereof, he would receive, but the girl's actions had him feeling more confused than ever. Isaac's eyebrows furrowed. It had been clear to him that something had been going down between the two when he had approached the room, and now, whatever it had been was making Bane unable to focus on what was really important. Isaac cleared his throat.

"Uh, kill her," he suggested easily, though both he and Bane knew he wouldn't do that. But Bane knew he should. Killing her would easy, it would be quick, and it would immediately make all these stupid feelings shatter away. But he just _couldn't_. A bigger part of him still didn't want to. He couldn't help but to still feel as though Jenna could be useful to him, and aside from that she was rather entertaining. She was a puzzle left for Bane to figure out during downtime at the warehouse, and he enjoyed her answers to his questions. It wasn't that she was a complex person; Bane had no idea what Jenna was about or desired, and what made her interesting was Jenna had no clue either. In simplicity, Jenna was pure _human_, and she carried qualities that Bane hadn't encountered with anyone in a long time. The past two years were filled with nothing but 'unique' people, even Isaac was unique in his own way. Jenna wasn't unique. She was average. And that made her undoubtedly interesting.

Bane never said anything to Isaac's suggestion, and he continued to stare down at his desk, wondering what Jenna was doing right now. _It doesn't matter_, Bane thought to himself. He was not going to kill her, but he was going to put an end to these unwanted feelings between the both of them. He would not avoid her – no, he was the bigger person here, he was in charge, therefore it was up to him to force an end to it all.

He took in a deep breath before speaking, still not bothering to look at Isaac. "We'll discuss this later," he said simply, and without another word Isaac turned around to leave the room.

–

Around seven o' clock Jenna had wandered out of her room and stealthily moved up the stairs to pull open the exit door. She had kept her eyes fixed firmly on the ground, and hadn't even noticed if Bane's door was open or closed as she rushed to the stairs. The biting cold air instantly sent her into a fit of shivers as she stepped down the stairs while taking out her cigarette pack and lighter. She stared at the light that flooded onto the pavement from the garage, and she knew Isaac would be out there before she even rounded the corner. The passenger side door to the Challenger was open, and Isaac sat on the seat, his right leg hanging out of the car as he replaced a light bulb on the ceiling of the car, and he hadn't even noticed Jenna had stepped outside until after he gotten out. She kept her arm clutched around her body while she took a hit of her cigarette from the other, and she kept her eyes focused on the ground as she openly shivered.

"Don't you have a coat?" Isaac asked her, Jenna glancing up to him once he spoke, and with that same freezing scowl on her face she shook her head. Isaac remained staring at her a moment longer after Jenna had glanced down, but when she noticed him moving in the corner of her eye she glanced up again to watch as he shrugged off his coat before taking a step forward to hold it out to her. She instantly started to shake her head, and right when she was about to speak up and claim she didn't need it, Isaac took another step closer to her. "Take it," he ordered. "You look pathetic."

"Don't you need it?"

"No."

Jenna frowned, but reached out with her free hand nonetheless to take the coat, for she knew this was a pending battle that she would lose. She stuck her cigarette in between her lips as she turned the jacket over to put her arms in it, and the warm, black material engulfed her body completely. The bottom hung down past the middle of her thighs, and she pushed her hands free out of the sleeves before folding the unzipped halves around her, like a robe. Her body started to warm instantly as she took another drag from her cigarette, and she lifted her eyes to watch as Isaac turned around to grab a tool from the work bench, his arms bare under his t-shirt.

"Thank you," Jenna grumbled as she exhaled the smoke, but Isaac didn't say anything as he turned back around to face the car.

"What was your problem today?" He asked her. "After the dealership?" He had every reason to believe that her problems began and ended with Bane, for after Bane's odd question to him, he knew something was going on, and because of that his curiosity on the situation had only heightened.

Jenna rolled her eyes as she glanced away. "It was nothing. Why do you care?"

"I don't know," Isaac returned as he turned his body to face her. "You looked more upset and pissed off than ever before. What's wrong _now_?" He asked a moment later once he noticed the new found scowl on her face as she stared at the ground.

"I'm hungry," she answered. Isaac grinned.

"There's some beef jerky inside," he offered, but let out a sigh when Jenna instantly started to shake her head. "Vegetarian?"

"No, _starving_," Jenna returned. "Jerky will make it fucking worse."

Isaac rolled his eyes, getting slightly annoyed with her attitude, but at the same time he couldn't shake off desires of wanting to help her. He paused once he turned to face the car, and the second a new idea formed in his mind he turned back toward her.

"You wanna go get something to eat?"

Jenna glanced up to him. "Are we allowed?"

"The fuck that does mean? Of course we are," Isaac replied.

"Just us?" Jenna confirmed quickly, and Isaac smiled slightly.

"Just us," he repeated, understanding that Jenna didn't want to be around the others, though at the same time he knew that would turn out to be nothing but trouble. "Here's the catch though," he went on, and Jenna's frown deepened as she stared into his eyes, hating the snide grin that slid onto his lips. "_You _gotta drive."

"No," Jenna said instantly as she leaned down to put her cigarette out. Isaac watched as she tossed the butt away from herself before she turned to start toward the stairs.

"Fine, go inside," Isaac called. "But whatever _problem_ you were having before is only fifteen feet away from your door."

Jenna stopped suddenly, her body going cold again, and she turned to glare into his eyes. Isaac knew her problems all stemmed from Bane? But how? _There's no way he knows... unless.. he saw..._

The thought instantly caused Jenna's face to redden, and Isaac's grin grew as he took a step toward her.

"I know a diner right around the corner," he went on. "Driving is not a big deal, Jenna, you can do it."

Jenna was still frowning, and she sighed as she took a step closer to him. "Can't you just drive? _Please_?"

"Nope," Isaac replied in a louder tone. "Let's go!"

Her shoulders hunched under Isaac's coat, Jenna stood her ground as she watched him turn around to grab the keys to the Challenger off of the work bench, and he tossed them at her, only to frown when they landed lamely on the ground. Jenna had not bothered to try and catch them, and now, as Issac waited, Jenna bent down to pick them up off the cold ground. Isaac took a step back toward the car, and with a large frown Jenna started over to the driver side. She opened the door and got in just as Isaac did, only to pause and scowl at the interior –or, lack thereof– of the car. The gauges behind the steering wheel were missing, as well as the consoles, radio, heat and air conditioning controls, carpet, and the surrounding hard material that held it all together. Instead, nothing but the metal skeleton existed all around, and that scowl never leaving her face Jenna turned around to glance in the back, realizing quickly there was no back seat, and the back interior matched the front.

"Where is everything?" Jenna asked when she turned back to Isaac, and she saw he was already rolling his eyes. "It's gross in here."

"Of course, if it doesn't look like the interior of a _limo_ is just simply won't do," Isaac retorted, and he grinned when he noticed Jenna was glaring at him. "Start the car."

"I don't have a license, I can't just-"

"Start. The. Car, Jenna," Isaac repeated slowly, starting to lose his patience. Jenna realized this, and with a frustrated huff she stuck the key into the ignition and turned it. The car roared to life, the sound near deafening, and Jenna jumped.

"Can we drive something else?" She tried as she turned to Isaac, and she grew more frustrated when Isaac laughed.

"You make no sense!" He exclaimed as Jenna turned away from him again. "What- the _sound _of the car scares you? You're turning this into such a big deal. You want some advice?"

"No."

"You act like this around Bane next time he tells you to do something, and I can guarantee he'll kill you on spot."

"Act like _what_?" Jenna asked, offense in her voice as she turned her head to glare at him again.

"Like this!" Isaac repeated, gesturing toward her. "Disgusted, frightened with a lack of confidence... that's intolerable around here, and I know you're better than that, so just stop. Put the car in reverse."

"...how?"

Isaac let out a loud breath from his nose as he grabbed her hand from the wheel and placed it on the shifter next to her. "Press down on the brake," he commanded. Keeping his hand on top of her hers, he forced the knob back, and Jenna watched a small red 'R' became illuminated next to it. Isaac let go of her hand and lifted his eyes to look at her.

"Is this automatic?" Jenna asked now, growing confused when Isaac laughed again, and he closed his eyes as he lifted his hand to head in frustration.

"Yes, stupid-ass, it is," he said. "Now back the fucking car up."

"I'm not stupid," Jenna mumbled as she fixed her hands on the wheel before she lifted her shaking foot from the brake, but as soon as the car started to roll backward, Jenna instantly slammed her foot back on the brake. Issac jerked forward along with her before he turned to glare at her.

"Really now?" He asked sarcastically. "_You_ are in total control of the car. The car isn't going to roll backward into anything if you don't let it. That wall is over twenty feet behind you; you're not going to hit it. Now back the car out of the garage."

Jenna wanted to cry. Not because she was scared, but because she was frustrated with Isaac, and even herself. She remembered years ago wanting to learn how to drive, but her parents never had the time of day to teach her, and nobody else around her wanted to help. A part of her could understand Isaac's frustration, but at the same time Jenna wished he'd have more patience. She took her hands from the steering wheel, and while still keeping her foot pressed on the brake, she leaned forward to shrug off his coat, and after she tossed it onto his lap she leaned back and attempted to try again. She eased her foot off the brake, and waited nervously as the car rolled out of the garage. Once the front was out, she began to turn the wheel, only to quickly start turning it the opposite direction when she felt the car turning the wrong way.

"When you're backing out, always turn the wheel in the opposite direction you wanna go. If you gotta head left, turn the wheel right. If you wanna head right-"

"-turn it left," Jenna mumbled once the car was facing forward again, and he watched as she reached down to pull the shifter down to drive, and after she placed her other hand on the wheel she slowly pressed down on the gas pedal. "I don't know where I'm going."

"That's fine," Isaac said as he glanced out of the windshield. "At that sign up there, turn left."

Jenna braked the car once they approached the sign, coming to a complete stop, and she glanced back and forth out of the windows a few times before she finally turned the car. Issac was shaking his head with a grin.

"There's _nobody _around here. You don't need to come to a complete stop there. And if you _dare _fucking tell me it was because it was a stop sign-"

"Isaac, please," Jenna complained. "I've never done this before! Lay off."

Isaac let out a sigh. "Turn left at the light."

"Onto a main road?" Jenna asked, nervousness laced throughout her voice.

"There's nobody around, not even on the main road," Isaac assured. "You can run the red light too, if you want."

But just as they both knew, Jenna didn't, and instead sat at the red light, waiting for it to turn green. Isaac was ready to bash his head into the window, wondering what he had gotten himself into, but as soon as the light turned green, Jenna took the turn too hard, the tires skidding across the pavement, and she slammed her foot down on the break and corrected the wheel before they could hit the curb.

"Nice turn," Isaac mumbled, but Jenna ignored him, and once the car was straight she pressed her foot on the gas again to start down the barren, two-lane road.

The ride to the diner, a trip that should have only taken ten minutes, turned into a trip that took nearly twenty. Jenna had grown frantic when they had approached some traffic, but Isaac kept his cool and helped to pass it on to Jenna. Finally, once they had reached the diner and Jenna pulled into the parking lot, he helped her to park, and he couldn't help but to grin and shake his head once he realized Jenna had parked directly over the white line, taking up two spaces.

"You need work," he commented once Jenna had stepped out of the car.

"Yeah, no shit," Jenna retorted as she stepped up onto the sidewalk.

"Lock it," Isaac said suddenly, and Jenna rolled her eyes as she turned around to press the lock button on the keys.

"It may look like a piece of shit now, but trust me. It'll be looking brand new once I'm done with it."

"What happened to it?" Jenna asked as she pocketed the keys in her sweatpants, and she walked next to Isaac once he started to walk toward the entrance.

"Crash," he answered simply with no other desires to explain further.

Jenna dropped the subject, honestly not that interested or motivated to talk about cars, but as they neared the door, a worrisome thought popped into her head.

"Are you sure we should be here?" She asked. "Won't you get recognized?"

"I may be the second in command around here," Isaac began as he glanced down at her. "But I'm still just one of the guys in the background that no one notices."

"But, I was on the news," Jenna went on, only to grow annoyed when Isaac shrugged.

"Keep your head down then," he suggested, and without another word he reached out to open the door. Jenna glanced over her shoulder before she stepped inside. The parking lot held only four cars, including Isaac's, and the small diner was located literally in the middle of nowhere. Though she hoped it wouldn't happen, she knew if anyone _was _to recognize them, Isaac could shoot up the entire diner and they'd get out unharmed and safe. But once she stepped inside, she knew it wouldn't be a problem, for besides the one busboy who was vacuuming and two other people sitting at the same table, the building was empty. A sign that read 'Please Seat Yourself' was in front of a small podium, and Jenna followed Isaac as he turned to the left to head right over to the same spot he always sat in. His favorite booth was in the furthest and darkest corner of the diner, and Jenna couldn't help but to make a face as she sat down slowly on the opposite side of him.

Not even a minute later, an older waitress with her brown hair piled messily on top of her head approached the table, and before she could even speak or place down two menus Isaac was already ordering his drink.

"Pepsi, please," he said smoothly, and Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as the waitress silently wrote the order down on her notepad. She turned to Jenna, popping her gum as she did so, and she cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her drink order as well.

"Um, Sprite," Jenna ordered, glancing away when the waitress wrote this down.

"You need a minute or you know what you want?"

"We'll take a minute, thank you," Isaac replied with an emotionless grin, and with a slight roll of her eyes the waitress turned around to head back into the kitchen to retrieve the drinks. Jenna was staring as Isaac as he pushed forth a menu to her before he interlocked his fingers on the table, and he grinned at her, this grin actually reaching his eyes.

"Why do you come here?" Jenna asked, glancing out to the rest of the diner. "They're rude here."

"It's great," Isaac said. "They're mean, they don't care about you, and they leave you the fuck alone. There's no room for that small-talk bullshit."

"Is that why you can come_ here _and not be recognized?" Jenna asked as she opened up the menu finally, and she lifted her eyes to stare into Isaac's from behind it.

"I told you," he said, leaning back with that same grin. "I'm nothing but the guy in the background."

Jenna didn't reply to this as she lowered her eyes back to the menu, her aqua orbs wandering all over the pages. Her eyes focused on the top of the third page, and feeling satisfied that they served breakfast twenty-four hours a day, she folded her menu and placed it on top of Isaac's, knowing what she wanted.

"What you getting?"

"Pancakes," Jenna answered, only to frown along with Isaac when his grin fell.

"Pancakes? I thought you said you were hungry."

"I am," Jenna replied easily before leaning back in her booth. Isaac let the issue go as their waitress returned back to the table, asking if they were ready to order as she placed down their drinks in front of the incorrect person.

"I'll have a cheeseburger –no onions, easy on the pickles– and the lady will have pancakes."

Meanwhile, Jenna had been busy switching their drinks around, and once she had her hands on her own she opened up her straw, stuck it in, and took a big sip, realizing this soda was the first thing she had to drink in a long time. Isaac had repeated her actions, and as he took a sip of his Pepsi Jenna lifted her eyes to stare at him once the waitress left the table.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, and when Isaac glanced at her he noticed her eyebrows to be furrowed in true confusion.

"Doing what?" He asked as he leaned over toward the table while sliding his drink to the side.

"Being nice to me," Jenna answered.

"Because I like you, like I told you."

"That's not an answer," Jenna replied, never breaking eye contact with him. "Everyone else hates me there, they have since day one. You saved me from that guy, you actually _talk _to me... I don't get it."

"What's not to get, Jenna?" Isaac returned. "I _like _you. I think you have potential. You're smart, and a welcoming change to the warehouse."

"You're the only one who thinks so," Jenna mumbled as she leaned back.

"No," Isaac returned slowly, his mind instantly flashing him images of Bane and Jenna standing awfully close to each other in his room, Bane staring down at her while Jenna stared else where, and he blinked before glancing back at her. "I know someone else who'd agree."

"If you even fucking say his name, I'll-"

"See? That...What the fuck is _that_? Just the guy's name alone pisses you off. _Why_?"

"Don't worry about it," Jenna mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest while sinking down further into the booth's seat, frustrated for unintentionally bringing back the subject.

"Oh no, you asked me a serious question, I can ask you one. If you want a real answer from me you gotta truthfully answer mine."

Jenna had her head turned away from him, and she was staring at the tiled floor. She instantly thought back to her and Bane standing in his room, and chills ran through her body upon remembering how Bane's arm had felt underneath her hand. His skin had been so warm, his hand hot on her hip, and it felt as though his fingers were burning right through her flesh. Not only was her confidence shocking, but also Bane's tolerance with her actions. She had been so sure that he would push her away, maybe even kill her right then, but he had touched her right back. What did that mean?

"...Jenna," Isaac was mumbling, drawing out each sound of her name. "You're thinking about it."

Jenna sighed. "Isaac, please, just... it's nothing."

"It's everything," he corrected, and when Jenna looked back into his eyes she was sure he could see right into her mind. "It's consuming you. You sure as fuck weren't like this when we took you. You had a little more fight. Now you're just... quiet, lost in your thoughts."

"Why do you care so much?" Jenna asked now, still staring into his striking blue eyes. Isaac shrugged.

"I wanna help you."

Jenna let out a small laugh as she shook her head, and she leaned back again as she glanced away. Isaac wanted to help her? Like he could. But even more important, why did he want to help her? Jenna figured she would make this question verbal.

"Because I just do," Isaac said. "Look, you remind me a lot of myself, when I was in your... situation."

Jenna made a face. "Kidnapped and confused?" She confirmed, strong doubt laced throughout her voice.

"Yup," Isaac replied. "I had it worse, though. And I didn't take the situation so _lightly_."

"Doubtful," Jenna replied with a roll of her eyes, finally glancing away. "And I _don't _take it lightly, either."

Isaac ignored her last comment. "Alright, I answered your question better, now answer mine."

He stared at her for a long, silent moment, waiting for her to respond, and finally, when Jenna couldn't ignore his staring at her any longer, she finally sighed as she glanced back to him.

"I guess I'm just confused about why I'm still alive. About why Bane... hasn't killed me yet." Her head began to spin, but she realized that her answer not only expressed truth, but also carried her real, hidden questions within. Issac sighed slightly as he leaned back himself.

"Same reasons I said before," he replied smoothly. "You've got potential, you're smart, you're a welcoming change."

"But how long will that all last?"

"I don't know," Isaac replied as he glanced away from her to watch as their waitress returned with their food. "Keep up the good work and there won't be any problems." He winked at her, and Jenna couldn't help but to smile slightly before the waitress set down their food, actually setting the plates in front of the correct person this time.

–

The two mainly ate in silence. Although the diner was dark and deserted, and the staff was less than friendly, Jenna's pancakes couldn't have been more perfect, and for the first time in a while she had grown incredibly full by the time she was finished. As she ate, she continued to steal a few glances at Isaac, and she couldn't help but to still wonder why he was being so friendly toward her. But the longer she thought about, the more she began to realize that perhaps she shouldn't think too much into it. Isaac was offering her a friendship, and regardless how shallow that friendship was or would be, Jenna figured she should just be grateful for it. Her life had taken such an unexpected turn, and while she was trapped in the darkness of confused and unwanted feelings, Bane, and various henchmen who wanted her dead, Isaac was that light at the end of that tunnel.

After Isaac had finished, and after he had paid the cheap bill, they stood from the table and exited the building to approach the car. Jenna knew she was expected to drive back, and Isaac was slightly surprised when Jenna pulled the keys out of her pocket before getting into the car to start it. But he kept his thoughts to himself as he closed his door, and he sat patiently as Jenna slowly backed the car off of the line to head in the wrong direction to circle the building to the exit.

This time around, however, Jenna felt as though their trip back to the warehouse went smoother than their trip to the diner. Not only did it take less time, but Jenna noticed a few improvements in her driving, such as keeping the car straight and not taking turns so hard. Isaac had only spoken up to give her quick directions, but he never gave her any praise, which Jenna couldn't help but to be slightly annoyed with. Was she doing better, or was she still doing terrible? Had anything been improved at all, or was it the same? But after a while Jenna decided to let the issue go, deciding that no praise was better than constant criticism. She would have to do all the judging herself.

After parking the car painstakingly slow back in the garage, Jenna took the key from the ignition, handed it to Isaac, and pushed open her door in unison with him.

"Thank you... for everything," Jenna said finally once she closed her door, and she rounded the back of the car while Isaac immediately headed toward the work bench to set down the keys. "Are you gonna be out here for a while?"

"For a little bit," he answered, ignoring her thank you, though it didn't go unrecognized. "You?"

"I'm going inside," she responded. "I'm uh... tired."

"Sounds good," Isaac replied as he finally glanced over at her. "Night."

"Goodnight." Jenna turned to start over toward the exit door, the cold wind flushing her skin while goosebumps covered her arms, and she pulled open the door to step quickly inside, the warm welcoming, though she knew it would disappear quickly once she reached the basement.

The warehouse seemed barren, and Bane hadn't even been on Jenna's mind for the first time that day as she descended the stairs, wondering where the rest of the henchmen were or where the hell Isaac even slept when he was inside, but just as she rounded the corner of the stairs to start toward her room, wanting nothing more than to curl up under the blanket, she jumped when she suddenly heard Bane's low voice come through that terrifying respirator.

"Where did you go?"

Jenna froze, a shock running her spine, and only a few feet from her door she turned around to finally notice Bane standing by his own closed door. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she noticed he was still shirtless and clad in those black sweat pants, and she swallowed as that same shock ran down her spine and tickled her lower back as memories instantly flooded her mind.

"Dinner," she forced herself to say, and she hated the squeaking, forced tone the word was delivered in. Bane had noticed this too, and he kept his eyes planted firmly on her, picking up on how stiff her body had become.

"With Barsad?"

It took Jenna a moment to realize he was referring to Isaac. "Yeah."

Bane's eyes slowly roamed down her body, and once he realized his absentminded action he quickly lifted them back up and forced himself to blink hard, clearing the image of her from his mind. "Alright then," he said finally, and without another word Jenna watched as he turned around to open his door and disappear inside.

It took a moment for feeling to come back to her body, and once she could feel her legs again she quickly turned around and disappeared into her own room. She didn't bother turning the light on, and instead she blindly made her way to the cot. Once she felt it beside her, she slid off her pants, not caring whether that was a good idea or not, though she knew she always slept better with them off, and she climbed into the cot, shivering as she pulled the blanket up to her chin. She closed her eyes and instantly began to wonder why Bane had been standing outside his door like that. Did she just have terrible timing, or had he been waiting for her? If he was waiting for her, what was the reason? All he had asked was where she had gone. He hadn't sounded angry, and he had been right in assuming she had gone out with Isaac. So why had he just been standing there like that?

Jenna let out a frustrated breath through her nose. Constantly trying to analyze Bane's actions and thoughts wore her out more than any physical action ever could, and she took a minute to wish she could just stop thinking about him and her stupid desires. Fortunately, sleep had found her sooner than she could have ever hoped, though unfortunately, her dreams were filled with nothing but the giant, masked man...

**I appreciate the support this story is receiving, guys, thank you! If you love Isaac (and Bane and Jenna) please review, and tell me why! :D**


	8. Growing Up

She was doing it again, and she couldn't understand why. There they were, alone again in a dark, empty room, and regardless of what decisions had been made Jenna found herself standing awfully close to him again, and staring down at his upper arm while she traced a finger down the length of it. This wasn't enough –again– and she thinned her lips in nervous concentration as she flattened her hand to run her palm back up his arm, feeling the muscles packed onto it. She closed her eyes and let out a breath upon feeling Bane place his hand on her exposed hip –his hand hot, her's cold– and when she opened her eyes she watched for a second as condensation escaped out of her mouth. When had it gotten so cold?

Bane's hand seemed to be growing hotter by the second, and she sighed again at the feel of his muscles and his hand sliding up her hip, his fingers just barely under the bottom of her shirt. With a racing heart she glanced up, this time wanting to see the look in his eyes and try to decipher for herself whether or not he was angry at their actions, but she froze the second her eyes found his face.

His mask was not there. The large object that obstructed his entire face was missing, and suddenly she couldn't breathe as she stared at him. His face held the usually hidden features of a strong jawline, thicker-set, smooth lips, and a uniquely-shaped, round nose. His head was still bare of any hair while light stubble covered his chin and jaw, and Jenna could not tear her eyes away from him. They wandered all over his features, taking them in, studying them, and in the back of her mind she confirmed the suspicion she had always carried: Bane _could _take off his mask.

She gently moved her hand up his arm as she stared into his eyes, but within a matter of a seconds everything seemed to change. The look in his eye was no longer calm and curious, but rather furious and fed-up, and the objects in the room around them began to fade until nothing but black surrounded them. He tightened his grip on her waist, squeezing the area as hard as he could with his fingers, and Jenna's face distorted into a look of pain as she tried to back away, but Bane would not let her move. His hand was hot –burning, suddenly– and with wide eyes Jenna forced herself to glance down at the source of the pain. She froze again, however, as her heart started to pound and race, when she realized her skin was _melting _around his hand, her molten flesh running over his own fiery skin and dripping onto the concrete floor. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sounds came, no one was around to save her anyway, and she tried to pull away again, only to find her movements to be slow and weak. Bane was glaring directly into her eyes, his own glare burning, and suddenly his mask was back on his face. He was saying something to her, speaking quickly and firmly, but his respirator mumbled and combined the words together into unintelligible sounds that Jenna could not make out, but yet she understood what he was saying. She had crossed the line, she failed in proving herself, and now she would pay the price...

As soon as this thought entered her mind, Bane loosened his grip on her ever so slightly before he violently pushed her away from himself...

The feeling of falling woke Jenna up from a dead sleep suddenly, and with a racing heart she struggled to catch her breath as she stared at the wall in front of her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she closed her eyes again, and suddenly she was faced with the horrid task of remembering her dream.

It was not the intensified heat of his skin, or even the way he had melted the skin from her body, but what she could not get out of her mind was his _face_. The longer she stayed awake, the more the features she had imagined him to have began to slip away, but she found herself trying to hold onto them. How accurate had that been? _It was a dream_, she told herself._ A _nightmare_. There was nothing __accurate about it, how could there be_?

She continued to breathe deeply, feeling hot suddenly, and she quickly kicked out one of her legs from the blanket. Her heart continued to race as she lie there with her eyes closed, trying to allow herself to calm down as she struggled to focus on something else, but the moment she heard her door open, she jumped, and made the terrible mistake of turning to look over her shoulder rather than pulling her leg back under the blanket.

Bane froze where he stood, his hand still holding the handle of the door, and his eyes had instantly dropped down to stare at her exposed leg. Before he could realize what he was doing, his eyes wandered up the length of her slender leg and focused for a split second on the portion of her ass that the blanket didn't cover, and just as he shifted his eyes away to stare at the corner of the room, Jenna retracted her leg back under the blanket and clutched the blanket tighter around her hips, a movement which was unnecessary since now she was completely covered. Her heart was racing and powerful shocks were running up and down her spine vigorously, and she felt her face reddening as she, too, stared at a corner of the room.

Finally, a short moment later, Bane cleared his throat, realizing how ridiculous this situation was turning out to be. Although Bane had left the issue of what he and Jenna had done the night before in his room behind him, and though he had figured he had left those feelings behind as well, he felt like slamming his fists down onto the wall as he forced himself to deal with the strong shock that had ran up his spine, and continued to linger on the back of his neck. _Nothing is going on here_, he reminded himself. So Jenna had fallen asleep with no pants on, and so what if he had seen? He closed his eyes tightly before he opened them, and he turned his head to look at the profile of her face as she made a strong effort to keep her gaze focused on the corner of the floor. It was up to him, he reminded himself, to put an end to these feelings between the two.

"Get up," Bane said to her now. "You and Barsad have... an errand... to run."

His words left much to be desired, and only after he turned and closed the door behind him did Jenna finally turn her head to look in the direction he had been standing in. Her heart had not yet calmed down, and she sighed as she leaned over in the cot to slide out her bag from underneath it. She grew frustrated as she shuffled around in her bag for a pair of pants, remembering a simpler time when she could lock her bedroom door and walk around naked if she wanted, but with that thought came the remembrance of everything else about her 'previous' life.

Issues and memories of her parents seemed minuscule for the time being, however, for she could not get the situation out of her head. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if she and him hadn't done what they had the night before. Because of that, it caused the situation to seem more awkward, and unfortunately, it forced Jenna to think about how Bane had felt under the palm of her hand again, something she had told herself she would no longer allow. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair.

Finally, after she had found a pair of jeans, she managed to put them on in the cot, and only after they were zipped and buttoned did she finally stand up and head to the door. She opened it cautiously, her eyes wandering around the room. A few henchmen stood around, eating, and she noticed Bane's bedroom door was open. She glanced toward the stairs and around the room, searching for Isaac, for she felt like he was the only person on Earth she could stand not to feel scared or awkward around anymore, especially after their dining and driving experience.

As always, her timing was terrible and her desires to avoid Bane failed again, for just as she stepped out of the room Bane stepped out of his as well, a paper in his hand that he was reading over, and she swallowed.

"Eat something, please, before you go outside to smoke," Bane's voice broke through her thoughts just as she started to pass him, and when she glanced over at him she saw he was still keeping his eyes firmly planted on the paper. But just when she figured he was feeling as awkward as she was, he surprised her when he lifted his eyes up to stare into hers.

"Eat what?" She finally asked, her voice slightly hoarse, and she cleared her throat before Bane answered.

"Whatever you can find up there."

With a frown, Jenna started up the stairs and straight down the hall where a small fridge and microwave sat next to and on a counter. An opened box of doughnuts sat on the counter by the microwave, but upon leaning over and lifting the lid, Jenna made a face when she noticed nothing but jelly-filled doughnuts remained, and she carelessly left the lid open as she opened the fridge, her stomach rumbling suddenly. There was a box of pizza sitting inside the nearly empty fridge, and out of hungry curiosity she took the box out before lifting the lid to smell the three slices that remained. They smelled okay enough, so with a shrug she took out a piece, closed the box, and put it back in the fridge before she started down the stairs.

When Bane heard light footsteps, he glanced up from the paper again and watched as Jenna entered the main area of the basement, a piece of bitten pizza in her hand. He smirked, enjoying the way in which she always seemed to follow his orders.

"You follow orders very well," he encouraged in loud, slightly amused tone as he looked back down to the paper, and Jenna frowned as she glanced over at him, and she unintentionally took a step closer to him and the wall he was leaning against.

"I was hungry," she stated before taking another bite, growing confused and slightly annoyed when Bane chuckled at this.

"Of course you were," he mumbled. Naturally, Jenna would never admit she was following orders. She liked to believe that _everything _she did was because of her own self will. Bane was positive if he told her to smash her head into the wall, she would comply in one way or another, and then later give him some bullshit reason as to why she had actually wanted to it. With further thought, Bane realized that _he _wanted to slam his own head against the wall, when suddenly unwanted images of Jenna that morning rushed into his mind.

It bewildered her. Just hours prior she was determined to avoid Bane and not allow herself to think about him, let alone talk to or stare at him. But here she was, carrying out all of the above. But her dream had entered her mind again, and she stared blankly at his mask as she desperately tried to remember what the man in her dream had looked like. Bane felt her intense glare, and eventually he slowly turned his head to look at her. Jenna did not revert eyes away at first however, and he stared at her while she stared at his mask until finally Jenna snapped out of her daze, her eyes instantly finding his.

"Is there something on my face?" Bane asked sarcastically as he glanced away and back down to the paper, and Jenna felt lightheaded at his words. But suddenly, a very undesired smile crept its way onto her plump lips, and Bane's eyebrows rose slightly when he heard a small, natural laugh escape past her. He caught her in just enough time to watch as she forced her mouth shut while she tried to let her desire to laugh at his joke pass, and once she felt like it was over she finally glanced back at him, wanting to kick herself.

"I have a question," she started, and she paused when Bane sighed and rolled his eyes as he looked back down to the paper.

"What _ever _could it be this time?" He mumbled, his words muffled due to the mask.

"Your... mask," she started, trying not to think about how his muscles had felt under her hand. After all, that action had started when she stated she had a question... She blinked a few times to clear the images from her head. "Can you take it off?"

"It would be terribly painful–" he started, and a shock ran up Jenna's spine, "–for the person who tries."

Jenna's lips parted as her brows furrowed in confusion. "So you can't take it off?"

"_Why_?" Bane asked as he slowly looked at her again, and she swallowed.

"I was just wondering," she finally said as she glanced away, deciding it to be a good idea not to tell Bane about her dream. It was ridiculous that she had even been considering that...

Bane remained staring at her for a moment longer until a new pair of footsteps started down the stairs, and Bane and Jenna glanced over at the stairs in unison to watch as Isaac descended them, swinging his keyring around on his pointer finger, and Jenna noticed he carried some sort of clothing in his other arm.

"Alex and the boys are over there waiting already," Isaac said as he approached them. "We'll head out as soon as she changes." Without warning he suddenly tossed the clothes at Jenna, and without thinking she reached out to catch them, letting out an annoyed sigh when she dropped her pizza in the process. Isaac and Bane were staring at her when she finally glanced away from the pizza and up to them, and her lips parted as she glanced down to the black t-shirt and large looking cargo pants she now carried.

"I have to wear these?" She asked now, a defeated tone in her voice as she frowned.

"That's the idea," Isaac said. "Hurry up, we gotta go."

She let out an exasperated sigh as she turned around just as Bane handed Isaac the paper he had been looking over.

"This is their schedule," Bane was saying as Jenna headed to her room. "Don't let them you know have it. This way we can find out who will prove themselves loyal, and which ones will not."

"Yes sir," Isaac said with a wide grin as he folded the paper to place in his pocket, and he glanced up just as Jenna closed her door.

Jenna was still frowning as she unfolded the clothes and laid them out on the cot after she fixed the blanket on top. She stood straight and stared at them, knowing already that the clothes were going to be huge and uncomfortable. She sighed as she shook her head, and she bent down to find a new pair of underwear before she shed off her shirt to start putting on the black t-shirt. As she predicted, it was huge, the bottom hanging down an inch or two above the middle of her thigh, and the wide sleeves hung down lamely on her arms. She bit her bottom lip as as she started to put on the cargo pants, and she grew even more frustrated after she buttoned and zipped them when she realized they were still too big on her. They fell down her waist and barely hung onto her wide hips, and although she hated the shirt, she was at least thankful that the long material hid how low the pants were.

After she tied her shoes, she found herself wishing she had a mirror as she sulked back the door, and she pushed her bangs out of her face as she slowly opened the door. Bane and Isaac had been chatting about something while they waited, but once Jenna started to approach them their conversation stopped short, and they both turned their heads to look over her. Isaac laughed while Bane grinned, and Jenna was glaring at Isaac.

"I can't wear this," Jenna complained. "I look like a dyke."

Issac couldn't help but to laugh harder, and he lifted his fist to his mouth as he turned around, hoping his actions would not upset Bane. But Bane was ignoring him as he shook his head at Jenna's choice of words.

"You standby your claims over your hatred for you life of luxury, yet the world comes crumbling down if you're forced to wear something that did not cost over five hundred dollars and doesn't expose what society has claimed to be the most _admirable _parts of your body."

His words stung, and Jenna's mouth fell open as she glared into his eyes. "That's not true, I-"

"Don't defend yourself, you two are already late enough as it is," Bane interrupted as he started to turn around. "I figured this was something that would have been obvious, but clearly it's something you'll have to learn the hard way. Around here, apparel isn't meant to be _cute_, or something worth looking it. It's meant to be flexible and functional." He couldn't help but to feel stupid with having to explain this to Jenna, and he shook his head as he entered his room. He felt vastly annoyed, suddenly, and he had to wonder if his annoyance with her was due to her actions the night before. Perhaps, if that had never happened, and he hadn't touched her back, then maybe he would have seen this issue to be more trivial, and worth something to laugh at along with Isaac. "Now go," he commanded finally.

Jenna was still glaring at him, and she didn't look away until after Isaac grabbed her wrist and tugged her along behind him toward the stairs. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to free her arm, and finally, with one good swing of her arm, she broke through Isaac's grasp, and he paused on the steps to turn and stare at her.

"Fuckin' really?" He started. "You get a little offended and now you're gonna start acting like a baby?"

Jenna shook her head as she stormed past him, hating the noise the pants made every time she took a step. "I'm not offended," she lied. "And I _don't _like when people grab my wrist."

"C'mon now, you're a better liar than that," Isaac started as he started to follow, and he quickened his pace to catch up with her.

"Just, don't talk to me," Jenna said finally said as she glanced over her shoulder once she reached the top of the stairs.

"Fine," Isaac said simply now as he followed her out of the exit door into the bright sunlight. The bright rays from the sun were deceiving, however, for as soon as Jenna stepped onto the concrete platform, she immediately clenched her teeth together as she started to shiver. "Maybe you should invest in a coat," Isaac said as he stepped in front of her, and in an effort to get under her skin more, he took a firm hold of her wrist before he lifted it up and forced her palm up, and set down the keys to the Challenger in her hand. Jenna let out an annoyed breath through her nose as she glared at him, and Isaac's wide, amused grin only annoyed her further.

"I'm _not _driving," Jenna said as she immediately turned her hand around to try and place the keys back in Isaac's hand, but he quickly held both of his hands up and listened as the keys fell lamely to the ground.

"Get in the car," was all he said more sternly, and Jenna was left standing on the platform as he jumped down the four stairs to start over to the opened garage doors where the car sat inside. Frustration grew inside her, and once Isaac opened the passenger side door, Jenna bent down to pick up the keys, and with a feeling of anger and defeat she started over to the car.

Isaac was sitting comfortably in the seat with his head resting against the head rest, and once Jenna closed her door he rolled his head to the left and watched as she slowly stuck the keys in. Her eyes were narrowed as she glanced down to the shift gear, and a moment after she went from staring at it to glancing out of all the mirrors, she finally glanced at Isaac and frowned at the intense look he was giving her. Finally, she put the car in reverse, and started to back out of the garage painstakingly slow, remembering Isaac's instructions with turning the wheel, and a strong nervous feeling crashed over her when she realized another truckload of henchmen were in front of her, waiting to take off. Once she backed out, the truck in front zoomed off, and Jenna's lips parted as she struggled to put the car in drive.

"Where are we going?" She finally asked Isaac, who had grown shockingly surprised at her lack of constantly complaining over being forced to drive. But he said nothing, and only glanced out of the window as he waited for her to start driving forward. "Isaac," she said again in a more stern voice. "Where are we going?"

"You said not to talk to you," Isaac said, his eyes still fixed out of the window.

"Really?" Jenna mumbled now, and she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. "You're going to be this immature right now? I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!"

"I'm immature?" Isaac asked now as he finally looked over to her, his blue eyes piercing as they stared into hers, and Jenna could already feel herself backing down, something she was not proud of, and hoped that Isaac couldn't detect. "You told _me _not to talk to you because you don't know how to handle being offended maturely. You said not to talk to you, and quite honestly I don't want to right now anyway." He glanced out of the window again.

_I'm being treated just like a child, again_, Jenna thought sourly and sadly to herself. Why did this keep happening? And what did she say now? Did she ignore him, like she originally wanted to do, and just start driving? But the truck was already long gone, she had no idea where they had turned, and she didn't even want to begin to think about how furious Bane would be if she was the cause of Isaac not showing up to... wherever they were going. But how could she apologize, and ask him in a nicer tone to please tell her what to do? That would only enhance how she felt right now, and make her seem even more like a child. She bit down on her tongue as she glanced out of the windshield, growing more nervous when she confirmed that the truck was nowhere in sight, and she sucked in a breath as she turned back to Isaac.

"If you don't tell me where we're going you'll be late, and Bane won't like that, especially from his _second in command_," Jenna offered sternly, deciding there was no way she was going to apologize. Isaac let out a small chuckle before he turned to look at her.

"Nice try," he said. "_You're _in the position of making us late. The blame will go to nobody else but you."

"You should have been the one driving," Jenna retorted as her bangs fell into her face, and she hated the way Isaac grinned at this, too.

"Bane agrees you need to learn how to drive. Perhaps that's the only way you can be useful to him."

Jenna remained staring at him as he turned away, and she highly considered getting out of the car right there and then. But her body kept her put, deciding her stubborn mind would only lead to her getting killed, and she began to feel dizzy. If she didn't apologize, this would more than likely lead to death, as well, but if she did, how would she ever be taken seriously here?

"Take back what you said," Isaac finally told her. "And I'll tell you where to go."

"I'm not apologizing," Jenna mumbled as she glanced down to the steering wheel, and she clenched her eyes closed in anger when Isaac chuckled again.

"You know, _you're _the one who puts yourself in these situations." Isaac looked at her again. "You claim you don't like your wrist being grabbed, then pay attention and follow the person you're supposed to be, quickly. You say you're not a high society brat, then don't get mad when you gotta wear _clothes_ you don't want for a couple hours. You claim you don't like being treated like a child, then _don't act like one._"

His tone was fierce and biting, and Jenna felt her stomach drop, though she continued to sternly remind herself she wasn't the one who was acting like a child. But regardless of her thoughts on the subject, a bigger worry lingered in the back of her mind, and finally she let out a sigh.

"Okay, I take it back then," she grumbled. "Please just tell me where we're going."

"Turn right up ahead, then left out of the property."

She kept her lips sealed tight as she finally accelerated the car forward, the engine loud and rumbling, and once she was out of the property, she fixed her hands on the wheel and sat up in her seat as she tried to remain calm while driving.

After Isaac had informed her they'd be staying straight on the road for a while, Jenna grew relieved when he had nothing more to say. She still felt like an idiot for apologizing, and though it had not been in so many words, and although she had not actually said 'I'm sorry', she still felt pathetic. But she would not allow herself to believe Isaac in deciding that maybe she _was _acting like a child. She wasn't. She was a hostage stuck in this shitty situation with these stupid and above all confusing people. How could anyone blame her for being angry?

The thoughts made her think back to her clothes. Bane and Isaac were wrong. Jenna was still high on the fact that she wasn't a 'high society brat' who always had to wear the most expensive and 'cutest' clothes, as Bane had said, but she knew she would not only feel better about herself, but also be able to preform Bane and Isaac's tasks more thoroughly if she could wear what she wanted to and feel comfortable. Baggy cargo and army pants and plain black shirts may have been comfortable for them, but they sure as hell weren't for her. They rubbed against her legs awkwardly, the swooshing noise they made on her sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and the looseness and bagginess of them kept her from moving smoothly. Why did she have to match them anyway? She wasn't apart of their team, she knew she never would be, nor did she even want to be. What was wrong with her leggings and jeans?

After a few more instructions on where to go, they had arrived to their destination, ten minutes late, and the rest of Bane's thugs were hanging outside, waiting with annoyed looks on their faces. Isaac knew the majority of their anger to be with Jenna, but he also assumed a portion of it was directed to him as well, for having her drive. Though he had never said anything, Isaac couldn't help but to be surprised with how much Jenna's driving had improved since the night before. Perhaps she had done so much better because she could not complain and allow herself to be scared. The thought satisfied him, and as Jenna took the keys from the ignition after she had parked on top of the line again, Isaac got out of the car and slammed the door shut.

"We're fuckin' late," one of the henchmen was saying as Isaac walked up to them while Jenna closed her own door, and she glanced at the building they were parked in front of while she followed Isaac. "The fuck is the girl doing here?"

"Bane wanted her to come along."

"Why?" One of them asked.

"Did she really have to drive, Isaac?" Another chimed in. "The fuck are you helping her for?!"

Isaac was ignoring them, for he was all business now, and he started toward the front doors of the building, which Jenna realized was some sort of old abandoned restaurant with the windows boarded up. The henchmen were glaring at her, and she tried to ignored them as she quickened her pace to follow Isaac closer as he led them to the door, which she noticed the wooden board had been ripped away from once they stepped inside.

The building was dim, the lights above barely illuminating the space, and in the near distance she could make out four other guys sitting at the old bar, and one of them grinned at them as he stood up from the stool to start over to them, the other three following his actions.

"I figured Bane's _army _would have been more punctual," the man said, and Isaac stopped in front of him, Jenna standing off to the side of him while the other henchmen waited behind them. "Who's the girl?" The man asked now as he glanced over to Jenna, and she raised her eyes to look into his dark ones before she glanced away with a roll of her eyes.

"The new recruit in training," Isaac replied smoothly, his words shocking Jenna. "And the source of our unpunctual mistake, in which I offer my apologies. But she's not what's important here."

Jenna's eyebrows were furrowed as she stared down at the ground. New recruit in training? Was that true, or was Isaac just saying that to get the man to lay off of her? With further thought, she had to wonder why she had even gone along in the first place.

"Bane needs to know you four are the best of the best, and capable of carrying out what he wants."

"Then why isn't he here to find out for himself?" One of the other men asked. Jenna glanced up to Isaac, and she stared at his smirking face, wondering how he was able to keep himself so composed. The attitude exuded from the four men were starting to piss _her _off.

"This is nothing more than an informal meeting, Alex, and Bane has better things to do than chat with the men he is... hiring. If he were here, however, he'd be able to see quickly your lack of seriousness over the issue, and decide that he'd no longer desire your services. We're more than capable of finding someone _better _and offering _them _the benefits and rewards we have so generously offered _you_."

Jenna had never felt more confused, and she glanced over to the man known as Alex as he stared at Isaac, a slight look of defeat on his face.

"So if there will be no further interruptions, I'd like to get on to the point. Is that alright with you?"

"I will not stand here and be talked _down _to, Barsad," Alex said. "I didn't spend my time training to be a damn firefighter all this time to work for pompous criminals who think they're the best of the best."

Isaac merely shrugged. "Then prove to us you're capable. On the date specified, aid with the arson on the city capital building and get us what we need from there, and if you do well then you will be accepted in our regiment. And by the end of this all, if you're not with_ us_, then you're _dead._" Isaac's words sent a shiver down Jenna's spine as she desperately wondered what he meant by that.

"The city capital building?" Alex repeated, but Isaac was quick to interrupted.

"If that's too challenging we'll find someone else who is capable. It's your call, Alex."

The room went silent as Alex thought this over, his eyes rolling to the left in thought while he thinned his lips, and Jenna went from glancing at him to Isaac, who still wore that all-knowing smirk on his face.

"Alright fine," Alex finally said.

"We'll be in touch," was all Isaac replied with it, and without anything further to say he turned around and began out of the building. Jenna quickly followed him, staying behind a few of the other thugs while the rest followed her, and once they stepped out of the building she let out a small sigh as Isaac started toward the car. The henchmen said nothing to Isaac and Isaac said nothing to them as he waited for Jenna to unlock the car, and once she did he opened the door and immediately got in, leaving Jenna to follow his actions.

"What's going on?" She asked as she glanced over to him.

"It's just another phase in Bane's plan," Isaac answered as he glanced over to her. Jenna's eyebrows were furrowed as she tried to decide which of her fifty questions she wanted to ask him first.

"They're firefighters?"

"On the outside," Isaac replied. "We recruited them not too long ago and put them in training for the job. They are really working for us, or at least, they _might _be."

"Why?"

"Because we need guys on the inside of society," Isaac replied, "to secretly carry out tasks we otherwise couldn't without making a scene of it."

"Why did I have to go?"

"So you can get a taste of what we do," Isaac replied. "We need to find something you can offer to us, and the only way we'll find out is only after you experienced what we do."

"What if there's nothing I can do?" Jenna asked him a moment later in a quieter tone of voice.

Isaac shrugged. "We'll have to see," was all he said, and when he glanced away to look out of the window Jenna finally started the car, finally realizing the truck of henchmen had already driven off long ago. Jenna remained silent as she turned out of the abandoned bar's lot, trying to remember which ways to go to get back to the warehouse, and as she drove, struggling to keep the car straight and going at a steady speed, she figured she was on the right track, for Isaac never spoke up to correct her.

The silence gave her time to think. Bane was still hung up on the fact in wanting to see if she was good for anything, but _why_? Jenna still couldn't understand why he was keeping her around in the first place, though at the same time she knew she should maybe consider herself lucky that he was. Although she didn't want to be there or associated with Bane, Isaac, or any of them, it was better than being dead with a snapped neck and a lifeless body tossed out like garbage. She was instantly reminded of those strange feelings she had been having toward Bane, her actions the previous night and her dream, and she tried to push them out of her head as she continued on, hoping she hadn't missed a turn somewhere. So Bane wanted to find something she was good at, fine, but Jenna knew the first step in doing so would mean she'd have to be comfortable.

She was unsure why she was still so hung up on the clothes issue, or why she suddenly wanted to find something she was good at herself, but she knew she'd have to do it in steps. Staying alive by all means was her primary goal, and she knew she'd have to play by Bane's rules to continue to achieve it each and every day. But she wasn't anticipating just bing another thug mindlessly working for him. No, she was better than that, and if she was going to prove anything to these people it was that she was someone who _deserved _to be treated with respect. And her first step? Proving to Bane and Isaac that clothes that were comfortable to her would help her to preform better.

After she had pulled in front of the garage at the warehouse, proud for having Isaac have to tell her where to go only once, she put the Challenger in park but never removed the keys. "Wait here," she said to Isaac before he could open his door, and he cocked an eyebrow as he turned to look at her.

"Why?" he asked slowly.

"I need to go somewhere."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Isaac said with a smirk as he started to push open his door, but Jenna quickly spoke up.

"If Bane says I can, then you'll have to go with me."

"What makes you think he'll let you go where you want?"

"It's worth a try," Jenna replied. Isaac paused, wondering where all of this was coming from, but a moment later he closed his door and leaned back in the seat.

"Fine. But don't start crying if he tells you no."

"Fuck you," Jenna mumbled as he stepped out of the car, and Isaac watched her head over to the exit door, wondering where she even wanted to go in the first place.

The building seemed empty as Jenna headed down the staircase, but with each step she took she felt herself losing more and more confidence, and once she had stepped up to Bane's closed door, she started to wonder what she had even been thinking. She was foolish for thinking Bane would allow her permission over what she was about to ask, and she took in deep breaths as she thought this over. She frowned, realizing how fucking pathetic she would look if she silently headed back upstairs to turn the car off and tell Isaac never mind, especially after not having asked Bane at all. She continued to stand there, finally realizing she had set herself up to _have _to at least ask now. _Fuck me_, she thought sourly to herself, and she forced herself to raise her fist to leave three small knocks on the door.

"Come in," she heard Bane's low voice grumble from inside, and she swallowed before she pushed open the door. The room was nearly dark, the small lamp on the desk not offering much light, and a shock ran up her spine when Bane turned in his chair in front of the desk to glance back at her, and his eyebrows furrowed once his eyes found hers. What was Jenna doing there?

"Where's Barsad?" he asked her, and Jenna swallowed when he stood from the chair suddenly to take slow, lingering steps toward her, and Jenna stared up at his giant frame, which suddenly didn't seem so sexy all of the sudden. Her intense nervous state was only allowing her mind to see him as something to be feared of for the first time in her eyes, but she tried to ignore this as she opened her mouth to speak.

"He's... in the car," she forced the words out. "I, um... had a question."

Bane's eyebrows furrowed even more as he stared down at her while he wondered what was going on, or why Isaac was allowing this. She had to be lying. The majority of him wanted to silence her and send her to go fetch Isaac, there being more important issues on the line than her question, but unfortunately Bane's curiosity was heightening with each second that went past. Jenna _acted_ uncaring, mean and brave, but this was by the far the first act of bravely she had done since first arriving here, and Bane couldn't help but to be slightly impressed. He figured her question must be important. Why else would she have the courage to knock on his door and momentarily pause the important conversation he had to have with his second in command? Jenna continued to listen to his eerie breathing that filled the room as he stared into her eyes intensely, until finally he asked, "what is it?"

His voice sent a chill down her spine, but she tired to ignore it as she struggled to focus on what was really important here. "Do you still have my... purse?"

"Perhaps," Bane replied. "_Why_?" He pressed on further with a growl.

"Can I have it?"

"_This _is what you came down here for?" Bane asked her now, starting to lose patience. "For your _bag _back?"

"I need the money that's inside my wallet," Jenna correct quickly just as Bane started to turn around, and he paused before he slowly started to turn back to her.

"For _what_?"

His voice sounded like that of a demons as he asked her these questions, and although Jenna was wishing she had never in come in and asked, she was in too deep, and had no choice but to argue her case.

"I need to buy something," she said in a slight mumble, and she glanced down slightly.

"I'm not someone to avoid the main point with, Jenna, what do you need?"

"Something," she replied, but when she heard Bane take in a large, annoyed breath, she quickly looked back up at him to continue on. "You'll... see what it is, but Isaac is going to go along too. It's nothing... bad, I promise."

Bane felt confused, but he welcomed the feeling, for it was confusion about something else other than his odd feelings toward Jenna. "You seem to be forgetting who's in charge here. You don't decide what Barsad does, I do, and it's not going to be so simple for you to decide what _you _want to do around here or what trivial objects you think you need. However," Bane went on quickly, and right when Jenna had accepted the fact that she had lost, and only worsened her situation, her eyes narrowed slightly as a small feeling of hope arose in her. "I'll grant you this permission _one _time because unfortunately you've heightened my... curiosity, especially with your courageous and intelligent act of asking my permission first. But when you return, you come straight back to _me_ after I meet with Barsad so we can re-discuss how it'll work around here."

Jenna's heart was racing as she watched Bane turn toward the wide, metal dresser that was on the wall behind the door, and she sucked in a deep breath as he opened one of the drawers to pull out her purse. He reached into it, took out the wallet, pulled out all the cash she had inside it and slowly stepped back up to her. He held out his hand to give her the cash, but once Jenna lifted her own and took the money in her hand, she jumped when Bane suddenly closed his fingers around her hand, and she flinched at the pain he inflicted by squeezing too tightly.

"If you come back here with anything that is trivial or may aid with your... escape attempts, I will use that object to aid _me _in your death. Do you understand?"

The pain from her hand was starting to shoot up her arm, but she forced herself to nod as she struggled to keep eye contact with him. He remained staring fiercely into her eyes for another long, silent moment until he suddenly let go of her hand, being careful as to not brush his fingers against her skin, and Jenna tried not to let out a sigh of relief.

"You have no more than one hour," Bane told her as he turned around to head back over to his desk.

Jenna said nothing to this as she turned around quickly to head out of his room, and once his door was shut she she rushed up the stairs and out to the car, where Isaac was surprisingly still waiting. When she got back in, he eyed the money in her hand with confused eyes before he finally glanced up to her for answers.

"Whose money is that?" He asked. "Where are we going?"

"It's mine, and where-"

"He _gave _you your money back?" Isaac interrupted, bewildered. "Why wou-"

"Isaac please, I only have an hour to do this. Where is the closest sporting goods store?"

Isaac was still staring at her, positive she was lying. Why would Bane give her money to go do what she wanted? It made no sense. He sighed a moment later, however, deciding he was too curious to see what was going on, and he knew the sooner Jenna did what she had to do, then the sooner he could find out what was going on. "Get out," he said to her. "I'll drive."

Jenna shot him a confused look, but she was quick to follow his request and get out of the car while Isaac scooted over to the driver seat. Once she closed the door, Isaac put the car in drive and zoomed away from the building. Jenna quickly grabbed and held onto the door as her body was jerked around due to Isaac's crazy driving.

"What do you need at a sporting goods store?" Isaac asked her once they had gotten onto a main road.

"Something," Jenna replied. "I'm going to prove something to you guys."

"With something from a _sporting goods store_?"

"Yes," Jenna replied, growing frustrated. "Just... be patient."

"How'd you get that money?"

"It's mine," Jenna said. "I asked Bane for it."

"And he just gave it to you?" Isaac asked, glancing over at her. Jenna sighed.

"Yeah, but not without a cost."

"Well, yeah," Isaac agreed. "You may have just given yourself a death wish. I hope whatever you getting from here is worth it."

Jenna didn't reply to this, and she was relieved when the conversation died down as they continued on to the store. Fifteen minutes later, Isaac was parking in the lot, and he turned the car off as Jenna started to open the door.

"You've got fifteen minutes," he told her sternly, "and keep your head down. Your cursed eyes will be the cause of you getting recognized." Jenna ignored him as she stepped out of the car and started toward the building, and she rolled her eyes over Isaac's command and the sound her pants made as she walked. But regardless, as soon as she stepped in the store, she kept her head down, and she avoid people's gazes as she headed to the department she was looking for, wondering if any of them were even looking at her anyway.

Pairs of woman's cargo pants hung neatly on various racks, and upon glancing around she noticed various tank tops and that the shoe section was located directly behind the clothes. As she started to quickly go through the pants, looking for a style she liked and her size, she couldn't help but to grin to herself over her plan. In Bane's game, she would follow his rules and dress to match his crew, but she was going to do it _her _way in a way that made her feel comfortable and confident. As she picked out pairs of pants, she couldn't help but to worry that Bane would get angry over her for this, but suddenly the majority of her wanted to go through with her idea and make it work. _It'll work_, she told herself. _"Your situation is what you make of it,"_ Isaac had told her when she first got there. Now, Jenna felt like she was starting to understand what those words meant.

After she had picked out the pants in her size, hoping they would look how she was picturing in her mind, she picked out two black tank tops, remembering she had a few black shirts back at the warehouse, and moved on quickly to the boot section of the shoes. Fortunately, this area was not very crowded, and this gave her plenty of time to muse over the selection in front of her.

After being stuck with no choice but to try the two pairs she liked on, she quickly replaced the boots back into the box and started over to the checkout lines.

"Did you find everything you need?" the lady behind the counter asked as she began to scan the items. Jenna made a point not to let the lady see her eyes when she answered yes. The lady sensed quickly that Jenna was not one to chat with, and after she had bagged the items and given Jenna her change, Jenna took the bag and headed over to the bathrooms to change.

Twenty minutes had gone by now, and Isaac was starting to lose his patience. He remained sitting in the car, waiting for Jenna, and when he glanced down at his watch he decided to be generous and offer Jenna five more minutes before being forced to go in there, fetch her, and bring her back to Bane to let him decide her fate. He glanced up and looked out of the passenger side window toward the building, and he watched as a slender lady wearing a black tank top, tight cargo pants and combat boots that ended just below her knees start out of the building, a large bag clutched in her hand, and he smirked as he nodded in slight approval before he turned his head to look out of the driver side window. Not even three seconds after, however, he did a double take, and as he stared out of the window at the woman, he realized it was Jenna. His eyebrows rose as she headed over to the car, the wind blowing through her hair, and his jaw had dropped slightly by the time she opened the car door to get in. As she situated the bag by her feet and closed the door, Isaac couldn't help but to let his eyes roam down her body ridiculously quickly before he looked back to her face just as she turned around.

"_That's _what you bought?" He asked, more bewildered than ever. Jenna surprised him when she grinned.

"Yup," she replied simply.

"And... what point does this prove?"

"It proves that comfortable, stylish clothes make all the difference," Jenna said, fully aware that she sounded like a high class brat, but at the moment she didn't care. "And you can't say anything about it because I'm still dressed like the rest of you."

Isaac finally started the car. "I may not be able to, but Bane can say whatever he wants." Jenna glanced over to him, a nervous shock running up her spine, and Isaac grinned when he looked back over to her before he put the car in drive. "Good luck," he added before he took off out of the parking lot.

–

The ride back to the warehouse went by quicker than Jenna had expected, and by the time Isaac was parking the car in garage, she felt as though she hadn't been left enough time to prepare to meet with Bane again. Isaac's words had left her feeling nervous again, and second guessing her choices. Would Bane take this too seriously, and grow furious over her slightly smart-ass-like ways, or would he simply accept what she had done, at least be grateful over the fact the clothes issue could be dropped, and proceed with reciting the rules to her. As she got out of the car and headed to the door, bag in hand, she hoped for the latter.

Isaac followed her inside and remained behind her as she headed into the basement, and she couldn't help but to grow slightly relieved when she noticed Bane was nowhere in sight, and his door was shut. Isaac remained silent as he immediately started over to the door, leaving Jenna to head over to her room and close the door behind her. She took slow and steady breaths as she emptied the contents of the bag onto her cot, and since the pants she wore fit her so well, she started with removing the tags from the pants and other tank top before she began to rummage around in her bag for more black shirts. In the back of her mind she had to wonder, however, if she was doing all this for nothing.

At last the time to find out came, and just as she had finished folding the clothes and placing them on the floor next to the cot, she heard a door open, and a shiver ran through her when she heard Bane call her name. She swallowed as she headed to the door, and she opened it cautiously, glancing around first to see who would be witnessing Bane's rage she was predicting, but she grew shocked when she noticed the main area of the basement was empty. She stepped out of her room, searching for Bane, and once she found him sitting on an old, torn up couch in the middle of the room, she slowly started over. His back was to her, and only after she had stepped down a small platform to the area the couch sat in, did Bane finally turn his head to look at her. He froze however, a shock running up his own spine once his eyes found her body.

A tight, black tank top hugged her body, hiding any cleavage but the tightness of the material showed off her breasts and curve of her waist perfectly, and as his eyes slowly roamed down he stared at her pants. The tight, army green cargo pants hugged her legs, showing off how slender and shaped they were, and he noticed the two pockets located on the sides of her legs. What was most note worthy, however, were the combat boots that were so obviously designed for the fashionable woman. They ended just below her knee, the laces criss-crossing all the way down, though judging by the base of them, they did appear functional enough, much to his surprise, and he had to wonder where she had gone to get the outfit.

Jenna had watched his eye movements slowly roam down her body as she stepped over to stand in front of the couch, and she remained silent as she waited for him to speak. She stared at his eyes, trying to judge what he was thinking or feeling as they slowly roamed back up her body, but because his mask obstructed so much of his face, she could not tell, and she stayed still as she listened to him breathe.

"Are you trying to prove something to me?" Bane asked her as he slowly rose from the couch, and Jenna's eyes flickered over him, and they lingered on a large and wide belt he wore around his hips. The sound of his boot hitting the ground snapped her away from her daze, and she lifted her eyes to look at him. "Are you?" Bane pressed on when he was a mere foot away from her. He watched as Jenna's mouth fell open, and he anticipated for her to say no, but a moment later she thinned her lips before she blinked her eyes slowly.

"Yes," she said. "I am."

Bane's eyes widened as he took another small step closer to her, and he glared into her eyes, waiting for an explanation.

"You're expecting me to go out and do all these tasks and 'see what I'm good at'," she began, and she broke eye contact with Bane, his glare too intense. "And I can't do that unless I'm wearing something comfortable."

Bane didn't know where to begin. "You are an enigma , Jenna," he began as she shook his head slightly, and his eyes roamed down her body quickly before he looked back to her face. "You demand to make it known you're not a child, but yet when you're expected to wear something you don't like you go out of your way to _make_ things go _your _way." His words faded off into a growl, and the noise caused Jenna to glance up at him again as he slowly started to circle around her. "You claim these clothes will aid with your capabilities, or at least the ones we are striving to discover," he began now in a louder voice, and once he had gone around her completely he stopped in front of her. "But to me they appear to be nothing more than a feminized statement of our uniform. Those can't possibly be comfortable."

"They are," Jenna began, but she jumped when Bane interrupted her with a booming voice.

"Then you'll have to prove it to me!" Bane said, suddenly not liking where Jenna's gaze was fixed on the floor, and he reached out to take a firm hold of her jaw before he lifted her head up, forcing her to look into his eyes. Her body had stiffened, pain already stemming from where his fingers gripped her jaw, and as a quick reflex she had reached up with her own hands to push him away, but instead she ended up clutching the fabric of his black shirt. She swallowed as she held onto his shirt, staring into his eyes now, and her actions had slightly shocked Bane. "Failure to do so will result in these pants, here, being strung around your neck as I watch the life drain from your eyes." He remained staring into her electric eyes, and he grew frustrated when the urge of wanting to curl his fingers back and feel her skin again overcame him. At the same time, Jenna could sense the muscle that laid just beneath the shirt she was clenching, and she struggled not to let her finger tips touch his body, because she knew what urges she would have then.

The silence and the weight of the moment seemed to intensify second by second, and Jenna felt her lips part when Bane's hand twitched slightly, his fingertips just _barely _brushing against her skin, and in response Bane felt her own fingers move closer to his stomach, her clutch on the material loosening. Bane had been stern on the fact of wanting to stop the feelings between the two and keep them from having moments like this, but as he stood there, staring at her, he realized he was failing. At the same time, Jenna had been desperate to avoid him, but her failure had already begun that morning, and as she continued to stand there, barely able to feel his stomach beneath her fingertips, she felt her self-will slipping away fast. She instantly thought back to the night she had so bravely felt his arm, but the second the idea slipped into her mind she immediately forced it out.

Finally, Bane forced himself to release her jaw, and he allowed his fingers to brush her skin as he did so, just to see what would happen. But the shocks that ran up his spine were proving to be tradition every time he touched her, and the feelings that overcame him were becoming fact. Once he let go, Jenna finally did as well, and she gently let the material of his shirt slip slowly from her grasp. Bane stared at her a second longer, and right when Jenna expected him to say or do something else, he turned around and started up the stairs to the basement.

* * *

**In the beginning of October I started writing a Joker Halloween one-shot, so that is why this story hadn't been updated in a while (if you were my friend on Facebook you would have known that! Lacey ClownQween Michele - add me!) But rest assured that I'm back to updating this story to its completion! Please leave me some love!**


	9. Uncontrollable Urges

Jenna had returned to her room with a racing and anxious heart, and she took deep breaths to steady her nerves as she wondered desperately how she and Bane continued to find themselves in such tense situations. It had been evident to her that Bane was skeptical of her uniform choice, but at the same time she had to wonder if, in some sort of way, he actually liked it. His eyes had so slowly wandered down her body as he observed each and every article of clothing and how it fit on her body, and when he had finally looked into her eyes they had been full of interest. But that look had faded, and been replaced with skepticism and maybe even annoyance.

Jenna sighed as she sat down on her cot, hating herself for thinking back to that moment. She could sense the muscles that lay directly beneath his shirt that she had been clutching, wishing she could feel them, and she remembered how his rough fingers had felt against her jaw. She wondered why she felt these intense feelings of interest toward him. Where were they coming from, and why was she having them? Especially toward the man who had ruined her life, and would ultimately break her if she made another wrong move.

_Another_, Jenna thought to herself. _"Bane doesn't offer second chances_," Isaac had told her, and Jenna lingered on his words. She appeared to have had annoyed Bane many times already, but if Bane didn't offer second chances, then had she messed up at all yet? If not, then why did Bane practice so much patience with her? She was nothing but a hostage to him; a worthless person who he would soon throw away once he was finished using her for what he wanted. But what _did_ he want with her?

Jenna shook her head now, figuring it was useless to contemplate these questions. Her life had turned into a ticking time bomb, and there was nothing she could do about it. She picked up her towel from her previous shower, and after she collected her toiletries she headed to the door and opened it cautiously. She glanced around the basement, but once she saw no sign of Bane, she immediately started up the basement stairs and headed directly into the bathroom for a shower.

Bane wasn't sure why he had headed up the stairs to go outside, but once the cold struck his skin he figured it was because he had been so desperate to get away from Jenna. It was ridiculous, really, that he felt the need to avoid her himself now, but for the most absurd reasons. He had wanted to put an end to those moments between them, but he realized now that was going to be difficult to do. It would be simple for him to banish Jenna away from him, but he could he stay away from her?

It was all so aggravating. While he was accepting the fact that he could not stop those moments, Jenna still carried traits that were really beginning to annoy him. He thought back to the picture of her in the newspaper, and he remembered how much deep emotion her eyes carried. But so far, she appeared to be a trivial mess. She acted like a child, Barsad was able to confirm that, and her problems were barely note worthy. Granted, in the beginning, Bane had been planning on killing her, but when he decided to keep her around it was because of what her eyes carried in that picture. He was still interested in keeping her alive, she carried potential, but suddenly Bane found himself interested in seeing if she could redeem herself...

After her act with the clothes, Bane figured it would be a good idea. He wanted to see if she could defend herself, and prove to him that she wasn't as childish as she was making herself out to be. He had gone back inside to search for her, but when he found the basement and her room to be empty, he returned up the stairs and finally realized the shower was running, so he headed back outside to wait for her.

Jenna would have never anticipated what waited for her outside once she dropped her towel off downstairs and grabbed her cigarettes. She braced herself at the door, preparing for the cold, but once she opened the door and stepped out, she froze when she saw that Bane was outside. It was an odd sight to her, seeing Bane lean against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Isaac do something to the Challenger, but regardless, she forced herself to step down the stairs to stand where she normally did, and she tried to ignore the cold wind that blew through her wet and wavy hair as she lit her cigarette. When she exhaled, she noticed Bane had glanced over and was watching her, but she tried to ignore him as she glanced away to take another long, much needed drag.

Bane had never actually seen her smoke before, and he had to admit, there was something so appealing in the way she did it. Her fingers holding the cigarette looked so dainty and fragile – so easily breakable – but when his eyes watched her lift the cigarette to her lips the second time, his dark gray orbs watched her plump lips pucker around the cigarette before she removed it from between them. His eyes were still planted firmly on her as she exhaled before they slowly wandered down over the uniform she still wore, and he cocked an eyebrow at this. Her free arm was wrapped around her exposed hips as she openly shivered, and he had just rolled his eyes to himself over this when suddenly Isaac spoke up.

"Alright, finished," he was saying as he got out of the car, and Bane reverted his eyes from Jenna to watch as Isaac stepped out of the car. He wiped his hands on his pants before he stepped away from the car, and he glanced up to Bane. "Good luck," he mumbled with a sly grin, and he could tell Bane was grinning back.

"You really think I'll need it, Barsad?"

"I'll let you be the judge of that," he said. "Hey, Jenna!" He called her name when he turned away from Bane, and when she glanced in his direction he pointed his thumb over his shoulder to the car. "C'mere."

Jenna was already frowning as she stepped up to him, and her eyes instantly went to Bane as he stepped up to the open passenger side door.

"Me and you are goin' for a little spin!" Bane said loudly as he turned to place one foot in the car, and as he did Jenna glanced to Isaac with wide, panicked eyes, and a small noise of protest escaped past her mouth when Isaac placed the keys in her hand.

"Isaac, I – I can't drive with... _him_-"

"You'll be fine," Isaac mumbled to her in a soothing voice, but this didn't stop Jenna from nervously glancing at the car just as Bane closed the door. She swallowed as she looked back to Isaac.

"Where are we going?" She asked nervously. Isaac was staring into her eyes, and Jenna grew more anxious when he glanced away momentarily.

"I don't know," he answered truthfully, glancing back into her eyes finally. "Just follow his directions, and you'll do fine. Your driving was better today." Isaac was unsure why he was helping her and talking to her about this, but he could sense Bane getting impatient. "Now go," he said as he started to walk away.

"Wait!" Jenna instantly said as he turned around. "What if he doesn't tell me where to go?"

Isaac laughed as he glanced over his shoulder. "Bane may be powerful but he's not always so cruel. He'll help ya."

Jenna highly doubted this. "But how do I get out of here-"

"Left up there at the gate, and he'll tell you where to turn at the light. You'll be _fine_."

It was evident that Isaac wasn't going to speak to her any further, and after Jenna watched him walk away for another quick moment, she finally started over to the car, taking a long drag from her cigarette as she did so. She pulled open the door and slowly got in, and from the corner of her eye it was obvious that Bane took up more space in the car than Isaac did when he sat there. He had moved the seat all the way back, and still his knees were practically touching the console in front of the dashboard. Jenna could feel Bane watching her as she stuck the keys into the ignition before she slowly turned them, the car roaring to life, and suddenly she felt as though she could not see over the dashboard. She straightened herself up in the seat before she glanced up to fix the rear view mirror before moving on to the side mirrors, and after a minute or so of unnecessary adjusting, Bane sighed as he turned to look out of the window.

"I haven't got all day," he said passively. Jenna swallowed as she glanced at him, and she looked away quickly when he started to look back at her. Finally, she placed her hand on the gear shift, and she put the car in reverse before she started to slowly back out. All was going well, until she suddenly heard something slam against the back of the car, and she slammed her foot down on the brake before she and Bane both glanced over their shoulders to look out of the back window. Her heart was racing, her mind barely able to fathom that she had _hit _someone, but she grew confused when Bane started to chuckle, and her eyes finally focused on Isaac grinning at them, his palms flat on the trunk of the car. Jenna's jaw dropped slightly as her eyebrows furrowed, and she started to turn around once she realized Isaac had slammed his hands down on the car to scare her.

"Isaac," she grumbled through gritted teeth as Bane turned around, still laughing, and outside the car she could hear Isaac cracking up as he stepped aside. Jenna was frowning as she continued to slowly back the car out, and she stuck her cigarette in between her lips so she could flip off Isaac as the car moved past him. Isaac found her gesture amusing, and he laughed harder as he shook his head.

"It's not funny," Jenna said in a low voice once the car was out of the garage, and she took her cigarette from her lips after she had inhaled to put the car in drive and correct the wheel before they slowly started to move forward.

"Oh, it's hilarious," Bane argued once his chuckling had died down. "We are not even twenty feet away from the building and already you are operating the vehicle with such caution. Perhaps I should have cleared my schedule after all..."

"You wanna drive?" Jenna asked in a rather rude tone as she glanced over to Bane, and when he looked over to her he noticed her eyebrows were raised in annoyance.

"No, I do not wish to drive," he replied in a tone that suggested this was obvious, and he decided to excuse her tone. "I am merely the_ passenger_ on our trip to town."

"Where are we going?" Jenna asked him.

"Your house."

"Why?"

"You will find out when we get there. Now _go_."

Jenna slowly looked away from him, and after she rolled her window down slightly, she finally accelerated the car forward, remembering to turn left at the gate to start off of the property.

Jenna could feel her hands shaking as she drove along toward the stop light, and she knew it was evident to Bane how badly she was unable to keep the car straight. She started braking the car earlier than necessary in front of the red light, but before she could come to a complete stop, Bane was already expressing his annoyance.

"Turn right at the light, there's no need to stop around here."

Jenna didn't reply as she did what she was told, and once she had successfully turned the car, she sped up and settled at a safe speed of forty. A short moment later, Bane sighed as he turned to look at her, and as Jenna struggled to take a drag of her cigarette and keep the car straight, she had just started to slowly glance at Bane when he suddenly leaned over to reach out and pluck the cigarette out from between her fingers. Her jaw dropped, her body freezing, but she closed her mouth when he tossed it out of the window before rolling the window up, and she jumped when he roughly placed his hand on the wheel to jerk the car back into the correct lane.

"You are awful at multitasking," he commented when he had settled back in his seat, and Jenna's eyes narrowed as she stared out of the windshield, finally exhaling the smoke from her drag that had been cut short. She placed both of her hands on the wheel, still struggling to keep the wheel straight, and her heart began to race when she heard Bane take another breath, preparing to speak again. "Speed up," he said loudly. "Accelerating the car is not going to kill you."

He waited, watching as the speedometer needle slowly moved up to sit on top of the fifty, and he sighed again before he leaned over to firmly place his hand on Jenna's knee. She gasped, holding the wheel tighter, and Bane stared at the speedometer as he pushed Jenna's leg down, forcing her to make the car go faster. Once the needle was on an acceptable number, he suddenly let go of her leg and leaned back in his seat. Jenna swallowed, knowing it would be a bad idea to glance down and see how fast they were going, but once she did she suddenly felt dizzy, and she jumped when she realized they were about to hit the curb. She glanced back to the road and quickly corrected the wheel, and at that moment she felt like jumping out of the car and facing her fate with the street. At this point, she figured anything would be better than this.

Fortunately for her, Bane proved her fears wrong and gave her simple directions until she had reached an area of Gotham she recognized, and from there she at least knew where she was going. She struggled to switch lanes in traffic and turn, and for the first time she finally noticed how heavily tinted the windows were when she realized that people in the vehicles next to her would try to look into the car and not start to hyperventilate. Once they were stopped at a light, she glanced over to Bane and stared at him for a moment, watching him as he stared out of the window with bored, tired eyes, his hands rested in lap, his knees barely touching the console. The closer they got to her house, the more anxious she became as she wondered desperately why he was taking her there, alone. What was he planning? _Oh, no..._ Jenna thought sadly to herself. What if he was planning on killing her there? What if he had grown so fed up with her at this point that he was planning on killing her right next to her parents, which she was more than likely going to be forced to see again. _Maybe not_, Jenna thought to herself. But with further thought, what else was there possibly left to do at her house...?

"It's green," Bane's voice broke through the silence, and Jenna jumped at the sound of his voice. When she glanced out of the windshield, the saw the light had turned green, and just as the car behind her honked their horn impatiently, she immediately pressed her foot to the gas and started forward.

Before she knew it, she was stopping the car along side the curb in front of her enormous house, and she couldn't help but to grow both relieved and nervous when she witnessed no limos parked outside the gates. The gate keeper was not in his booth, and upon glancing up to the house it appeared cold and empty. She swallowed as she shut off the car, Bane immediately stepping out of it, and she followed his actions. She locked the door before she started around the car, and when she noticed Bane was holding out his bare hand she placed the keys in it, figuring that was what he wanted. It was, and once he placed the keys in the pocket of his pants he glanced at her and nodded over toward the gate. Without a word Jenna immediately started over to it, and Bane watched as she effortlessly climbed the gate again. Her knee high boots appeared to give her good traction, and he noticed how easy it was for her to move and bend in her pants. Perhaps she had been smart with her choice of clothes...

Once she had hopped down from the fence, she started over to the booth and opened the gate, and she waited as Bane marched through them to start up the driveway through the forest of dying trees that surrounded their house. He reached out to grab Jenna's shirt, and he forced her in front of him as he continued to walk, and he pushed her slightly to make her walk faster. Her heart was racing so fast she was sure it was going to burst through her chest, but she tried to keep her composure once they reached the front doors. She reached out, shocked to see the door was unlocked, and when she pushed it open to step inside the first image she was greeted with was her dead mother laying on the floor on her stomach with a crooked and limp neck. The great hall reeked of death, and Jenna closed her eyes as she turned around. Bane watched her do this, and his eyes looked over to Mia's lifeless frame before he looked back to Jenna, who was now staring up at him.

"How is possible nobody has... found them yet?" She asked.

Bane shrugged as he looked out to the rest of the house. "Society doesn't care. Your parent's employers are free from them, and they don't care about the reasons why."

"But, the maids?" Jenna asked. "And the gate keeper, and the gardeners. The door was unlocked..."

Bane shrugged again. "Perhaps they notified somebody, or perhaps they did not. Regardless, this is no concern right now. I've brought you here, Jenna, to _redeem _yourself."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as she struggled not to take in too deep of breaths. "Redeem myself?"

Bane nodded before he finally glanced back down to her, and he took a step closer. "I kept you around because you held the potential to prove to me that you are more than just a spoiled brat who is too dependent. So far, you lack the confidence I had predicted you to have, and the mindset of somebody who is stronger and smarter than you appear to be."

Jenna was staring at him, her ears starting to ring, and she struggled to keep herself composed.

"I want you to find me something that will prove to me that you're worth keeping _alive,_" he growled.

"Like... what?" Jenna forced herself to ask as she continued to stare up at him.

"Anything," Bane replied simply in a higher toned voice.

"What if I can't?"

Bane was quiet for a moment before he answered her. "Then I guess this was... all for nothing." He didn't offer her any more of an answer, and he started to walk away toward the kitchen as he left Jenna's shaking frame standing there. She felt dizzy, her body stiff as she stared down at the ground, wondering what she was supposed to do now. She was sure she was only mere minutes away from dying if she didn't find Bane what he desired, though she had no idea what that was. She glanced to her left to watch Bane slowly continue down the hall, and she bit down on her lip as she turned to start over to the stairs. She stepped past her mother, trying not to look down at her as she started up the stairs, and a strong shock ran up her spine when her eyes fell on her father, still laying in a pool of his own, dried blood. Blood still stained the walls behind him, and she felt even dizzier as she continued on to her messy room.

She opened the door and snapped on the light, her eyes instantly searching around the room as she wondered desperately what she was going to give Bane to prove herself to him. _A diary_? She wondered as she stepped into her room, trying to avoid stepping on any objects that had been tossed onto the floor. _No_, she thought to herself as she ventured further into her room, her eyes scanning over all the objects that lay on the floor. The last time she had written in a diary had been when she was ten, and all her entrees had been about how she wished she could have new parents. That book was long gone by now, anyway.

She had jewelry items that had been given to her by her grandparents who had recently passed, and though she cherished the items – or, at least use to – she knew these would not suite Bane. She opened her closet and ventured to the far depths of it, where old stuffed animals from her childhood stay lay. She shook her head a moment later, figuring it was useless. Everything she owned said nothing but 'spoiled brat', as she was now discovering, and she sighed as she stopped in the middle of the room, a feeling of defeat starting to over-take her. There was no actual object she could hand Bane; all she had was the truths she kept, locked down deep inside, and the hope that this would be enough for him. Frowning, she stepped over to her bed and lifted up the mattress, remembering suddenly what she had hidden there, and she quickly scooped up the items in her hand before she nervously started back downstairs.

She avoided looking at her parents bodies as she ventured down the stairs, her stomach twisting in knots at the smell in the house and the worried thoughts she was beginning to have, and she felt a lump rise in her throat as she started down the hall to the kitchen just as Bane had turned around from facing the wall to start over to her as well, his boots echoing throughout the house with each step he took. Once they had approached each other, standing just barely a foot away, Bane stared expectantly into her eyes while she stared up at him. Finally, she took in a deep breath and glanced down to the items in her hand – a map and an envelope stuffed with cash – and she handed them out to him, a shock running up her spine when his fingers touched her own.

"This is all I have," Jenna said with a sigh, and her tone surprised Bane. It was low and calm, and carried a tone of defeat and acceptance. He glanced up to her before he looked back down to the items, and he unfolded the map of the United States. Certain states had been circled and certain cities starred, and next to their red circles were sloppy notes Jenna had written about why she found that state to be suitable and appealing.

"That's my map of where I'd like to live, whenever I could have managed to get out of here," Jenna started, her eyes focused on the upside down image and writings as Bane looked over it. "I outlined the best routs to take in red, assuming I'd drive there, but when that failed I started looking in to flying. The envelope has plane schedules from all different years and money that I had been saving,"she explained further once Bane had started to open the envelope, and he pulled out the thick wad of organized cash and folded plane departure schedules. He looked over them quickly before he raised his eyes to look into Jenna's.

"But you never left," he said. "_Why_?"

Jenna shook her head with a frown. "Because I was scared," she said in a tone just above a whisper, and she let that feeling of defeat over-take her completely. It was a truth she had never admitted to anybody, and a truth she never planned to admit. It was something that she kept locked away under her 'tough-girl' facade, but with each day, Bane seemed to break through that outer shell more and more. Jenna glanced away from him now. "I didn't know how to move somewhere, _alone_, and I didn't know what I'd do when I got there. But I still saved up money, and drew on the map, because at least thoughts of getting out of here and knowing I could, helped."

Bane continued to stare at her, and when she glanced back up into his eyes he was easily able to tell she was expressing the truth. If he were being completely honest with himself, he had been coming here hoping that Jenna wouldn't be able to prove herself, just so he could have more of an excuse to kill her. It wasn't the clothes that angered him, and it wasn't entirely how stubborn she could be; more so, it was these feelings they shared for each other, and the moments they constantly found themselves in. It was so against what Bane had ever expected, and although he didn't like it, he couldn't bring himself to avoid it, even when he tried.

It wasn't the objects that she had given him that actually were helping to redeem herself, but rather the fact that she was finally being truthful, and not holding back. Those emotions that Bane had seen in her eyes in that picture were starting to come forth and feed his curiosity, and although he wasn't sure if it was unfortunate or fortunate that it was working, he waited for her to go on.

"Look," Jenna said once she couldn't stand to hear his eerie breathing in the silence anymore. "I don't have any actual objects to redeem myself, or whatever. My whole life has been _nothing _but this," he raised her arms up, motioning to her house and the fancy objects within it. "But I've always hated it, and I've always wanted to get away. All I can offer to you is my word that I'll stop being so... childish, if it means that I won't die," she added in a lower tone.

"You claim your will to live is still strong," Bane replied. "Although you haven't been proving it much lately, what do you think you still have to live for? Your parents are dead, and though that could be thought of as a favor, they died by your selfish words of approval. _Everything _has been taken from you, your money, your freedom... what is causing you to fight on every day?"

"Hope that it'll get better," she replied honestly, her gaze fixed on the floor. She hated the talk they were having, and she hated how stupid she felt, standing helplessly in front of him as she told him her pathetic truths. "Clearly you don't want me around anyway, so what's the point of even defending myself?"

Just as quickly as it had faded, her snappy, confident tone was back in the words she spoke. Bane remained staring down at her, the truth lingering at the tip of his tongue, but he easily kept this back. "I could always use more recruits," he lied. "And in this case one just happened to fall from the sky without any hassle. I still feel as though you're useful for something, and I used this time to find out if it was still worth pursuing."

"Is it?" Jenna wondered as she finally glanced up at him, and he stared directly into her eyes. No artificial emotions were prominent in them, and instead her eyes carried sadness and even slight fear.

"What if it wasn't?" Bane questioned as he took a step closer to her, and Jenna sucked in a sharp breath. "What if I was preparing to kill you, right here, right now... What would you do? Try and run, or stand there and embrace it?"

Jenna realized finally that he wasn't going to kill her. Though his desire was probably strong, his desire to keep her alive was stronger. It was clear to her now that she _had _messed up, but it appeared as though she was the one person who Bane was offering a second chance to. If he wanted her dead, he would have done it by now, and not allowed her to try and redeem herself. If he wanted her dead, her words to redeem herself would have failed, and by now her life would have ended. But instead here he was, _talking _to her, questioning her, and procrastinating from doing the act.

"I don't know," Jenna answered in a small voice. "I'd probably just... stand here."

"Aww," Bane replied as he took a step even closer to her, and he let the map fall to the floor before he folded the envelope in half to place in his pocket. "I like to think you have a little more fight than that! Tell me, what would you do to try and save yourself?" He stared down at Jenna, waiting for an answer, but when it didn't come his eyebrows furrowed. "You've tried only once to harm me and get away by doing so, but you never tried again. Do I actually scare you that much now?"

"No," Jenna replied quickly in a stern voice as she raised her head to look up at him, but when he raised his eyebrows he watched her back down slightly. "You don't scare me," Jenna made herself go on, though at the moment she wasn't entirely sure if this true or not. Bane remained staring at her for a long moment, the silence nearly unbearable, and Jenna waited for him to speak.

"I guess we'll have to change that then," he finally said before he stepped past her to start over to the door.

–

His words had confused Jenna, and although a small feeling of dread overcame her, she forced herself to ignore it as she started the Challenger once they had made it down the driveway. The ride back was nearly silent, and once she had successfully retraced her previous path out of the busier parts of the Gotham streets, Bane directed her back to the warehouse. The majority of the time Bane stared out of the window, his knees almost touching the console, his hands in lap, but from the corner of her eye as she struggled to maintain her speed and keep the car straight, Jenna caught him glancing at her – and the speedometer – from the time to time. It seemed as though they had reached the warehouse in no time, and after Jenna had parked the car in front of the warehouse garage Bane was immediately pushing open the door to get out. Jenna watched for a minute as he walked over to the exit door, taking the stairs two at a time, before he opened the door and disappeared inside. She sighed to herself, but just before she could take the key out of the ignition there was a knock on her window. She jumped before glancing over, and she watched as Isaac mouthed something to her as he pointed inside of the garage. Jenna frowned, and immediately started to shake her head, but she could easily read the words from Isaac's lips: 'pull the car in'.

She put the car back in drive and stared ahead, feeling as though there just wasn't enough room to pull the car inside next to Isaac's truck, which now sat on the other side of the garage, but regardless, she eased her foot off of the break and mentally cursed to herself after she had easily parked the car inside the garage. Isaac met her at the door just as she started to open it, and he reached out to hold onto it as Jenna stepped out of the car.

"Where'd you go?" Isaac asked as he watched her step out. She appeared to be very unhappy, but her facial expression only made him feel as though she should just be happy to still be alive.

"My house," Jenna replied finally, and Isaac closed the door before Jenna handed him the keys.

"Why?"

"To _redeem _myself," Jenna mumbled as she turned to start out of the garage. She didn't want to talk about it, let alone think about it. That had been her second chance that Bane had so generously offered her, but now the heat was on. Just one more mistake – no matter how big or small – was all it would take for her to meet her bloody fate.

Isaac laughed, and the sound only annoyed Jenna further as he followed her. "C'mere," he started as he reached out, and Jenna tried to keep her patience when he took a hold of her arm to gently force her to turn around. She took in a deep, annoyed breath when she glanced up to Isaac's grinning face. "Have a smoke and tell me _all_ about it."

"I'm out," Jenna replied as she started to turn around, but Isaac tightened his grip and forced her to face him again, and she watched as he pulled out his pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket.

"Take one of mine," he offered as he handed her the box, and once she accepted it he finally let go of her arm. Jenna sighed as she took out a cigarette, her thoughts making her feel dizzy. Would it have been childish to tell Isaac no and proceed inside, or was it childish of her to stay and listen to him? _What the fuck ever_, Jenna thought sourly to herself. She wasn't whining or complaining or yelling. That had to count for something, right? "So what did you have to redeem yourself for?" Isaac asked after Jenna handed him the back the pack, and as he waited for her to answer he lit one up himself.

"For being too childish and having a lack of confidence," Jenna mumbled before she exhaled, and she crossed her arms when a small breeze blew past and looked away.

"Well yeah," Isaac replied with a chuckle. "What else?"

"Being too dependent. And... being a _brat_." She rolled her eyes.

"Seems about right," Isaac said.

"Fuck you," Jenna said suddenly as she turned to face him, her eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not going to stand here and list all of my faults. This is starting to become really fucking ridiculous."

"And your situation wasn't before? What, after somebody finally tells you to your face what your biggest problems are, you can't handle it? _That's _being childish."

"Yeah okay I'm really fucking childish," Jenna spat as she threw her cigarette on the ground before she turned to storm away, but Isaac was right on her heels.

"It's not that _your _completely childish, but your actions are! _Like now_," Isaac added firmly as he took hold of her arm again. Jenna struggled against him, trying to free her arm as seething anger burned inside her, but when it proved useless she stopped suddenly and allowed Isaac to turn her around. He was about to go on, but he stopped short when his eyes caught glimpse of Jenna's face behind her hair as she bowed her head. "Are you... _crying_?" Isaac asked, finally letting go of her arm. This only upset Jenna further, and she immediately raised her hand up to her face to wipe away the two tears that had fallen.

"You know I don't like people grabbing my arm," she said, proud that her voice hadn't quivered, but she wanted to kick herself when she sniffled shortly after. Isaac's eyebrows were furrowed as he stared down at her.

"Why are you crying?"

_Why do you care_? Jenna thought, but as a response she merely shook her head and started to turn around. As an instant reaction, Isaac reached out to grab her arm again to finish talking to her, but once his fingers touched the skin on her arm he immediately corrected himself and grabbed her neck instead. Jenna jumped as she was gently pulled back, and Isaac managed to turn her around again before he let his hand drop at his side. Jenna raised her glossy eyes to glare at him, and a grin slid onto Isaac's lips.

"You never said you didn't like people grabbing your neck," he said, surprised when Jenna let out a small laugh. He wasn't sure why he was making her stick around to talk to him, and he definitely wasn't sure why he felt the small urge to actually help her. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes again and plucked one out before he gently placed it in between Jenna's lips. The action surprised her, and she glanced up at him again as he held up the flame from his lighter to it. Jenna inhaled slowly, and Isaac took the lighter away only after Jenna took the cigarette from her mouth to exhale. "Why are you crying?" He asked again as he returned the items.

Jenna shook her head as she pushed her bangs out of her face with her free hand as she glanced away. "Because I've been thrown into a situation that's not fair. I get that I was a dependent brat now, but I was allowed to be. In a matter of fucking _seconds _I was taken from my life and suddenly _forced_ to become something I'm not."

"Which is...?" Isaac pressed on as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"I don't know – brave... fearless... tough."

"Don't be going fucking soft on me, girl," he said now. "Just because Bane scared you today doesn't mean you're not those things. Remember when I tried to force you into the car? You wouldn't go in without a fight, and you were pretty strong. You fuckin' held a _gun _on Bane. Wanna talk about being brave and fearless? Fuckin' no one holds any sort of weapon on that guy."

"That was just stupidity."

"It was courageous," Isaac pointed out. "Defending yourself and your life like that? With an attitude of knowing that _no one _is going to take anything from you? Even though... everything _was_ taken–"

"Is this supposed to be helping?" Jenna interrupted rudely as she finally glanced up to him.

"It should be," Isaac said. "I mean that. You are all of those things, you just don't let it be known, or practice it, because you're too busy acting like a scared or furious child if something doesn't go your way. Your situation is unique, and you should be lucky to even be alive still. I can't tell you how many people – _women_ – went through that door only to never be seen again."

"Why?" Jenna asked.

"Why not?" Isaac returned. "Everyone around here needs... some sort of thrill now and again."

Jenna's eyes widened slightly as Isaac took another drag.

"Not Bane though," he went on. "He never partook in any of that stuff. In fact, he put a stop to it for the most part once his army grew. But you see what I mean? The fact that he didn't kill you blows my mind, still, to this day."

"Well it's just a matter of time," Jenna replied before she took a hit from her cigarette, not entirely believing anything Isaac was saying about her at the moment, although just the fact that he was trying to help her was slightly comforting.

"No, it's not. He offered you a second chance today, do you realize that? Like I told you, he doesn't _do _that. You fuck up once and you're fucking gone, no questions asked. He's only ever offered a second to chance to one other person..."

"Who?" Jenna asked as she stared at him.

"Me."

"Why?" Jenna asked. "What did you do?"

Isaac merely shrugged as he finished his cigarette before dropped it to the ground. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you that story when I see improvement from you."

"That's not fair," Jenna replied. "What if that never happens?"

"Then I'll tell the story to your corpse," Isaac said with a snide smirk.

"Isaac," Jenna complained. "That's not fair. I'm _terrified_ that I could die tomorrow."

"Don't be," Isaac said as he stepped closer to her, his eyes glaring directly into hers. "You've gotten a second chance, that means that there's _something _about you that Bane likes. I don't know what, you don't know what, but if you stop being so childish, what he likes will come through, and you won't have to be scared anymore."

Jenna's eyes narrowed on him, and an odd feeling had crept upon her due to Isaac words. He spoke them so clearly, and he sounded so sure of himself. Perhaps he had once gone through something similar. Jenna wanted to ask him, but she knew she would not receive an answer.

"Your move today with the clothes? That was brave, and said a lot about you. You proved us wrong," Isaac started again. "You've managed to find a way to match the uniform, move easily, and look good all at the same time. You know more about yourself than you think. Just start being more smart, have some confidence in everything you do, and I can guarantee things will get better."

Jenna was still staring at him when he stepped away to turn around to head over to the car. She watched him for a moment before she glanced away, and she let her cigarette drop to the ground. Isaac seemed so sure on his advice, and now Jenna was positive he was offering her advice that he had experienced himself. She had to be truthful with herself, Isaac's advice and compliments had comforted her some, but she knew it would be easier said than done. Either way, she had to appreciate that _someone _around here was offering her help, for it wasn't for Isaac, Jenna figured she _would _have been killed already.

"Isaac?" She spoke his name, and when he turned around he saw that she was staring at him. "...thank you."

Isaac grinned, but he didn't reply, and once he turned around to lift up the hood of the car Jenna finally turned around and started inside herself.

For some reason or another, Jenna never expected the building to be so warm when coming inside, but she welcomed it as she made her way downstairs. Isaac's words were still making her feel a little better, though at the same time she was still completely filled with worry. It was so easy to decide to stop acting like a child, though at the same time Jenna wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to that when she couldn't even pinpoint when she was. At the same time, the majority of her didn't even want to change anything about herself. In this sudden, new situation, she was scared, and trying to fend; how did that make her a child? Just because this giant gorilla had ripped her away from _everything _and was full of nothing but threats, didn't mean Jenna had to change who she was. She found it to be ridiculous.

Little did she know, the giant gorilla was standing in the middle of his room when she started by, and upon glancing over this thick shoulder, he watched her start past before he turned around to turn off his giant TV.

"Jenna," he spoke her name, his bone-chilling voice stopping her in her tracks, and she slowly turned around just as Bane stepped out of his room. "Come here."

Her heart had started to race, but she tried to ignore this as she slowly stepped up to him. Why would she be in trouble? She hadn't done anything wrong since they returned. So why was she becoming so nervous as she finally stopped a few feet in front of him. "What?" She tucked her hands into her pockets, and she watched as Bane's eyes roamed down her body to watch her do this before he quickly reverted them to stare into hers, the aqua blue color shining through the dimness of the basement.

"What were you and Barsad talking about?" He had been watching them outside on his TV due to the various cameras he had planted around the warehouse, and Jenna's body language had heightened his curiosity. Because he could not hear what they were saying, he figured he'd ask her.

Jenna stared at him for a moment, wondering how he knew they had been talking, but after she figured Bane could predict she had been having a cigarette and had ended up talking to Isaac since he was out there as well, she decided to drop her confusion. "Just..." she started, stopping herself before she could say 'nothing'. She knew Bane would not accept that as an answer. "...about where we went."

"What about it?" Bane pressed on, causing Jenna to wonder why he even cared. How was it that with each step she took around the property, things got weirder and weirder?

"About why I had to redeem myself," Jenna replied.

"And why did you?" Bane asked, his voice low and lingering through the respirator. Jenna furrowed her eyebrows, and she could not stop herself from quickly replying before she thought her words through.

"You were there," she said quickly, only to pause a moment later when Bane let out a slow and steady breath.

"Remind me." He started to turn around, and once he had stepped back into his room, Jenna could not stop herself from stepping inside herself, and once Bane heard her footsteps, he immediately turned around to glance at her.

"For being childish and dependent or whatever," Jenna replied. Bane remained staring into her eyes for a long moment before he finally turned around all the way to step up to her.

"Tell me, did today's... task... help you to understand what will no longer be tolerated?"

Jenna glanced down as she crossed her arms. "I guess," she mumbled, only to jump due to Bane's booming voice.

"You guess!" He asked loudly as he took another small step toward her. "It is _beyond _me, Jenna, how after all of _that_ you can stand there and tell me that today did absolutely nothing for you."

"I- I didn't... mean that," Jenna instantly started to correct as she took a step back, her back hitting the wall next to the open door, and she could feel her shoulders hunch up slightly when Bane took a step forward to place his hands against the wall on either side of her, trapping her. He stared down into her eyes, and Jenna didn't dare look away from his harsh gaze.

"Then perhaps you should start _thinking _before you speak," he told her. "You already have one strike against you and I can guarantee you will not reach two."

Jenna's lips thinned, and though she was unsure why she was feeling so frustrated suddenly, she couldn't stop herself from feeling that way. "If I say I will, am I free to go now?" She asked him firmly, her heart starting to race. "And yes, I thought that through before I said it."

Bane let out a low, lingering chuckle, and he observed Jenna suck in a breath as he raised his hand to touch his fingers to her neck. Her body had frozen completely, her eyes glued onto his, and a shock not only ran up her spine, but Bane's as well as his slid his large fingers around her neck, Jenna's lips parting when he squeezed on it slightly. His eyes had dropped to her lips, and he stared at them for a moment before he returned his eyes to stare into hers.

"You need to learn when it's appropriate to be sarcastic, and when it is _not_," he told her patiently. "Around me, it's not such a good idea, and you can't seem to understand that I am the _only _thing standing in between you and _death_," he growled. "I constantly wonder why I even keep you around in the first place."

This was a lie, and both Jenna and Bane knew it. Right before their eyes, another moment was starting to happen, and though Jenna's heart had started to slow down, those shocks had not stopped running up and down her spine. Her body took over her mind completely for the moment, and she could not stop her eyes from wandering over Bane's black shirt before they slowly slid back up to look into his eyes. She finally released a slow breath when Bane's eyes traveled over her the same way hers had, and he paused on her chest just long enough to watch her release a breath before they slowly wandered back up to stare at his hand around her neck. He didn't want to do it, he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't stop himself from curling his fingers back, ever so slightly. His eyes closed at the feel of her skin, but once he realized how far he had curled his fingers back, his eyes quickly snapped open before he glared back into hers, his fingers stretching out to hold her neck again. His rough fingers on her neck was like nothing she had ever felt before, and she couldn't help but to swallow as she continued to stare at him.

Suddenly, Bane could not remember where he had been meaning to take their conversation, and this angered him more than anything. He wanted to keep Jenna around so she could serve as more help to him, but the only way he could train her and get her to do what he wanted was to keep up with his threats. But how could he do that when some sort of moment always developed any time they were in the same room together? When she was around, he could not stop himself from speaking to her, or even moving closer to her, he realized now. Logically, he had wanted to grab her neck to instil fear in her, and even squeeze it harder than he had been, but he realized now his body had only wanted to feel her soft skin again. _Mind over body_, he told himself. He sucked in a sharp breath as he glanced away for a moment, bowing his head slightly, and Jenna grew confused and _slightly _frightened when he suddenly glanced back at her.

"Alright," he said, his tone completely different now. It did not carry frustration or anger, this time, it carried slight annoyance and... casualness? "These... _moments _that are continuously happening between us... need to _stop_."

Jenna's eyes widened at his words. She had never expected Bane to actually speak out loud of these moments, though at the same time he had just confirmed her biggest theory: whatever she was feeling, Bane was _definitely _feeling it too. Her heart had started to race as she anticipated for him to go on, though at the same time, she found herself dreading what he was going to say next.

"Do you agree?"

_Oh my God_, Jenna thought nervously to herself. Did she agree? To be honest, at that moment she had absolutely no clue, but she knew the right thing to do was nod her head.

"Then I want you to do something," Bane started. "So we can get on to more important topics more quickly, without further interruptions." He slowly slid his fingers from her neck, and although the lack of pressure there felt good, it also left Jenna feeling cold and... empty? Jenna struggled to keep her composure as she watched Bane close his door before taking a small step back as he lowered his arm. "Because you are just as much of an aid to this problem as I am, I want you to do whatever your thinking of doing, right now. Then, I will do the same to you."

Jenna's jaw had dropped, but as quickly as it had, she corrected herself and closed it as she searched for the right words to say. "...W-what?" Was all she could manage to say.

"You heard correctly," Bane went on. "These... feelings... need to end, and the only way they will is if we get all these desires out of the way, right now." Like Jenna, he could not believe the words he was speaking, but Bane was not one to beat around the bush. He wanted these feelings gone, and he wanted them gone now. He had a theory suddenly that if he just allowed them to get it all out, right here and right now, then they would no longer feel these desires. He couldn't go on with these constant distractions any longer. "Come on," he pressed on. "I won't hurt you."

Jenna remained leaning against the cold wall as she stared at him. Her mind was struggling to hold her back, but her body was already disobeying and overpowering her logical thoughts as she leaned away from the wall to take a small step closer to him. She was instantly reminded of the sight of his muscles, and how his arm had felt under her hand. This was a one time only opportunity: Bane was allowing her to act out on the small desires that overwhelmed her thoughts. Not only did she _want _to do it, for some God awful reason or another, but Jenna figured if she could do what she wanted just once, then she wouldn't want to anymore, at all. She moved slightly closer to him, her eyes dropping to his stomach, but before she could reach her hands out to him, the room started to spin, her arms halting suddenly at her sides, her hands shaking as her mind screamed at her to just turn and leave, and she was suddenly reminded of Isaac's words to her: _"have some confidence in everything you do_."

Jenna bit down on her lip. Did Isaac's words apply to this situation as well? Jenna was unsure, but she left any logical thoughts behind her as she finally reached her hands out to take hold of the bottom of Bane's shirt in between her fingers, and Bane's eyes widened slightly when she began to tug it upwards.

Never in a million years had Bane expected for her to that. He had been waiting for her to simply reach out and feel his arm again, but her actions simply proved that whatever she was feeling toward him, the desires were burning her alive. But regardless, he lifted his arms up slightly to assist her with taking the shirt off, and once it reached a point she could not reach, he reached behind him and slid it over his neck and head before he let it drop down to the ground. With a racing heart that was making it difficult to breathe, Jenna stared at his chest for a long moment before her eyes wandered down his stomach and onto the large belt that he wore, before they slid back up to his shoulders. Her hands were still shaking slightly, but nothing held her back from moving even closer to him to place both of her hands on either of his forearms. She bit her lip again as she slowly moved them up, and she gasped when she suddenly felt Bane place his hands on either side of her waist, his eyes staring at the lower half of her body. As her hands traveled up and over his muscles, Bane's traveled down, and once his fingers roamed over her prominent hip bones, he squeezed on them due to increasing anger, hating how badly he was enjoying her touch. Jenna's teeth clenched slightly at the pain, and as a response she dug her nails into Bane's skin as she moved her hands back down, scratching him along the way. Bane let out a large breath at this as he squeezed on her hips harder, his eyes suddenly raising to look at her lips, and when the impossible thought of actually desiring to _kiss _her came into his mind, and when a strong sense of pleasure overcame Jenna due to _both _of Bane's hands being on her, they both lost it.

Jenna gasped when Bane squeezed on her hips even harder, his fingers sure to leave bruises, and she grew even dizzier when Bane suddenly spun her around to start pushing her back toward the adjacent wall behind the door and next to the dresser. She quickly moved her hands to place on his chest, and she dug her nails into his skin again as she dragged them down and over his stomach. She grunted when she suddenly hit the wall, her head smacking against the concrete, and before Bane even knew what he was doing he was grabbing either side of her black tank top to rip from her body. The sound of her shirt tearing in half only drove Jenna further, and she ran her hands back up his chest to firmly grab his shoulders just as her shirt fell to the floor, exposing her lacy, black bra and rather large breasts that it covered.

Bane had never done anything like this before, but suddenly it seemed as though it was near impossible to stop. He pressed his fingers firmly against her collarbones before he slid his hands down over her breasts and over her stomach, and the strongest dizzy sensation washed over him when Jenna let out a low moan. He growled suddenly, the sound only arousing Jenna further, and she couldn't help but to moan again when suddenly Bane grabbed her hips and lifted her up to hold her against the wall. As an instant reaction she wrapped her legs around his waist and over the giant belt he wore, and she squeezed them together, pulling him closer to herself, and she felt herself freeze momentarily when she realized she was suddenly at face level with him. She stared into his dark gray eyes, too dizzy to determine the emotions they held, but it seemed that as soon as she had looked into his eyes her own were sliding closed when Bane wrapped his fingers around her neck again, squeezing it harder than before. Her air supply was being cut short rapidly, but she brought her hands back up to scratch him again on the back of his shoulders, hating the way she enjoyed the breath he released at this. When she opened her eyes again, her aqua orbs immediately focused on the right curve of his neck, and before she could stop herself she was leaning over to touch her lips against his skin.

The biggest shock of her life sprang throughout her body once her lips made contact, for she was finding herself desperate to do _something _with her lips. With all the encounters with the opposite sex she had had, these moments always started with some type of kiss, but Bane's mask made that near impossible. It was unfair, she thought. These moments were so unlike anything she had ever felt, especially now, when it was hard to stop herself from doing what she wanted when she wanted, and she couldn't even kiss the guy. But regardless, Jenna was determined to find a way.

Bane's eyes had widened at her actions, and just when his mind was shouting at him to stop, he lowered his hands to hold onto her hips again, and he squeezed on them just as he felt Jenna bite down on his neck.

Jenna's eyes had snapped open and widened when she heard Bane let out an actual, low moan, the sound unlike anything she had ever heard as it traveled through his mask, and she could not help the moan that escaped past her immediately after as she bit down harder. The mix of actual pleasure and slight pain brought on by Jenna was catching up with him, and just when he felt her tongue trace the area he had bitten, he squeezed on her hips almost as hard as he could. Just when Jenna tilted her head back to let out a noise of pain, Bane pushed her hips against the wall before he suddenly took a large step back, letting her fall to the floor. As she caught her balance and struggled to stand, Bane had taken another step back, realizing quickly that his plan had failed... miserably.

He was breathing in and out deeply as he stared at Jenna's boots, and when he slowly raised his eyes to look into hers, he forced himself to look away. "Get out," he harshly told her suddenly.

Jenna was barely able to hear what he had said or comprehend it as she struggled to catch her breath and hold her body weight up, and her body began to shake as realization of all that they had just done caught up with her. By now, Bane had turned around, his back facing her as he raised his hands up to place against the back of his neck, and Jenna had been so caught up with staring at his flexed muscles that Bane's loud and growling voice scared her more than it should have.

"Get_ out_."

She jumped, panic overcoming her as her eyes widened, and she bent to down, struggling to pick up her shirt. Once she had finally managed to grab it, she stumbled over to the door, threw it open, and immediately stepped outside, using her ripped shirt to shield herself, although the basement was fortunately empty. She hadn't bothered closing the door, and instead she desperately started over to her own room, but as soon as she had kicked open the door, she jumped when she heard Bane's slam shut. He was shaking his head to himself as he paced about his room. How could his theory have gone _so _wrong? He had expected Jenna to merely feel his arm again while he felt her skin for a few moments. He had never anticipated for anything like _that _to happen. It was completely unreal, and completely uncalled for. He growled to himself again as he turned around on his heel before reaching out to pick up the remote from his desk to firmly press the button and turn his TV on.

Jenna leaned against her closed door now with closed eyes as she struggled to breathe and catch her balance, her and Bane's actions running rapid through her mind. She knew she had been desiring to at least touch him again, but she never would have expected for that to escalate so quickly. Where the _fuck _did all of that come from? Not only from her, but from Bane as well?

She pushed herself away from the door as her arousal strongly lingered on, and she threw her torn shirt away from her and onto the floor as hard as she could. She began to pace around the room as well, and she fisted her fingers into her hair before she pulled on it, hating herself for how ridiculously turned on she still was. For the time being, however, it was not the person who was causing these feelings or what she had done that was bothering her, but rather it was how she was going to relieve herself from these feelings. _Fuck it_, she thought to herself, and she stopped pacing suddenly before she stepped over to her cot. She pulled back the blanket and got in, rested her head against the pillow, and she let out a large sigh as she stared up at the ceiling while she started to undo her pants, ignoring the fact that her boots were still on. She was alone, and she was desperate to relieve her arousal. What other way was there?

She lowered her hand down under her underwear, her eyes sliding closed as she ran her finger over her clit. She let out a sigh as she did it again, and again, moving her fingers faster and faster. She was anticipating for someone to barge into the room, but at the same time she didn't care, for all she wanted was these feelings to go away. She figured that if she could just finish herself off, then all of those desires would be gone forever.

Five minutes passed quickly, and once she had made herself come, her eyes closing tightly as her lips parted to allow quiet and low moans to escape past, she removed her hands from her pants and opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling as she struggled to catch her breath. Her heart was racing, the room still spinning, and though she did feel relieved, her mind was not ready to let her forget all that she had just done with Bane. Now, it was time to be serious, although the idea scared her. Suddenly, she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts, and suddenly, this all seemed like something she could not keep to herself and deal with alone. Now, it was time to talk to her only _friend_ who could perhaps talk some sense into her. Now, it was time to talk to Isaac...

* * *

**Friday was my birthday, and I would just like to mention that I got a VERY awesome, GIANT Bane cardboard cutout, and a KILLER, GIANT Joker tattoo. If you would like to see them and gain a new friend along the way, add me on facebook! (Lacey ClownQween Michele)  
Also, life has been incredibly stressful, and reviews help me feel better more than you know :) As always, thank you for reading this story! You guys are the best!**


	10. Fighting Fire with Fire

**_BE WARNED_! This chapter is rated M (should be MA) for a reason! If you're not a fan of lemons, don't bother reading, and don't be messaging me about how the scene is inappropriate, please. If you ARE a fan, please enjoy :)**

Jenna gave herself a moment to catch her breath before she pulled her pants up and put on a new black shirt, and she approached the door, slowly easing it open, cursing to herself as the usual low squeak from the door was prolonged due to her slow action. Fortunately, the basement was empty, and though there had been plenty of times that she dreaded running into Bane, she knew that this time around was the _real deal. _Her mind was still not able to completely fathom what she and the beast had done, but she didn't let herself think about it too deeply, for she figured that perhaps Isaac would be able to help her out in ways she could never help herself with the issue. She wasn't exactly thrilled about telling anybody what had happened, but she figured that perhaps Isaac could help her to shed some light on it in a different perspective to help her understand, and even offer her some advice.

Bane's door was closed still, and Jenna silently made her way toward the stairs before scurrying up them to exit out of the door. The sun had just barely begun to set, and the first thing Jenna noticed was the Challenger and Isaac's truck had been pulled out of the garage, blocking her view of the rest of the warehouse and what was inside the garage. A few other henchmen were loitering outside, and just when Jenna had reached the bottom of the stairs, Isaac rounded the vehicles and started toward her.

"Isaac," Jenna instantly spoke, stopping in front of him, and Isaac stopped as well once his eyes met hers.

"What?" He seemed impatient.

"Do you... have a minute?" Jenna asked in a quiet tone.

"Not really," he answered. "What's wrong?"

"I-it's about Bane—"

"What about him?" Isaac interrupted, his tone suggesting that he thought this issue was more important than it probably really was. Jenna stared at him for a moment before continuing.

"Something... happened... with us."

Isaac's eyes narrowed as he waited for her to go on, and he could tell she was having a difficult time with doing so.

"We..." Jenna swallowed, unable to believe she was actually about to tell him, but at this point she didn't know what else to do. Isaac had helped her out every time before, and she hoped that he'd still be able to now. "We were in his room... and we... we – we almost..." she paused, unable to make herself speak the words. Isaac was losing patience, and he widened his eyes as he leaned his head in, his gesture suggesting he was anticipating for her to go on. Unable to make herself speak the words, Jenna brought up her hands and moved them around each other as she stared at Isaac with wide eyes, hoping he'd understand, but when he continued to just stare at her she balled her hands into fists and gently pulled them back as she moved her hips forward before she bounced back on her feet. Realization instantly flooded Isaac's features, and his eyebrows furrowed as he took a small step back.

"_Really_? I don't have _time _for that discussion, Jenna!" He started to move past her, his actions confusing and startling her, and she immediately turned around to watch as he started toward the stairs.

"Look, I didn't mean to freak you out, but _I'm_ freaked out here! I was hoping-"

"I don't want to hear about that," Isaac continued on as he started up the stairs, and once he had reached the platform he glanced over at her. "What happens between you and Bane is his and your problem. Not mine."

Before he or she could say anything else, he pulled open the door and immediately stepped inside, leaving Jenna standing on the pavement with an agape mouth as she stared at the door. What the _fuck _had just happened? Just about an hour prior he had been so helpful to her. _What the fuck crawled up his ass_? Jenna thought sourly to herself.

Chuckling erupting from the garage caught her attention, and at first she had merely glanced over her shoulder as a reaction, but when she heard female laughter she couldn't help but to cock an eyebrow. She turned around before she slowly started to approach the garage, wondering if her ears had deceived her, but just before she could peer inside the garage she could hear a female voice amongst the low murmurs from the men. Just when she glanced into the garage, a door closing caught her attention, and upon turning around she watched Isaac hop over the bar and off the platform before starting toward her. He was moving fast, but just when he proceeded past her Jenna quickly spoke his name, halting him in his tracks before he could enter the garage. He appeared just as impatient as before, but rather than backing down, Jenna held her ground.

"Can I get a cigarette?" She asked in a tone equivalent to the annoyed face he was making. Isaac sighed as he reached into his pocket to draw out the pack and lighter as he stepped toward her, and once he handed her the items Jenna watched as he reached into his pocket to pull out a five dollar bill.

"Buy your own pack," he said before turning around. His words carried a biting tone, but rather than standing there and stewing in the hurt and trying to decipher what his problem was, Jenna tried to let it go as she lit up a cigarette. As she exhaled, she finally stepped closer to the garage to peer inside, and her eyes instantly focused on the only female in the large room. She appeared tall and slender, though Jenna figured all her height was coming from the heels she wore. Dressed in black dress pants with a black, pinstripe, thin overcoat over her white shirt, the dark colors only brought out her straight, fiery red hair even more, and already Jenna could feel herself making a face. The girl was smiling a small smile as one of the henchmen told her something, and there was something about the way she rolled her eyes as she glanced away that made Jenna feel even more hateful toward her. But why? Chances were she was just some chick one of the henchmen were going to take inside, like Isaac was telling her, so why did Jenna care? _I don't_, she told herself as she turned away while taking another drag. But as soon as she had, her eyes instantly fell on Bane as he made his way toward her.

She exhaled slowly as she watched him approach, her stomach turning in knots while her heart accelerated, and she noticed that he had put on his thick armored vest along with some sort of leather glove on his right hand that ended just a few inches below his elbow. As he started past her, he glanced down to look at her, but once Jenna's eyes met his he immediately looked away before proceeding into the garage, leaving Jenna to instantly follow his movements and watch him from where she stood. The talking and laughter had died down, and Jenna watched the random girl start to slowly tilt her head back as Bane approached, his massive body towering over hers. She did not appear to be too afraid, however, and this only confused Jenna further.

"Ah, Ms. Karly Ann Treaffluw," Bane spoke her name loudly and slowly, and when Jenna's eyes dropped down to look at the girl now known as Karly, Jenna noticed she appeared a little uneasy due to Bane's knowledge of her full name, she guessed. Karly swallowed before she forced a small grin and daringly reached her hand out.

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, her smile never touching her eyes.

"The pleasure is all _mine_," Bane returned as he shook her hand, not even the slightest bit surprised when he realized how frail her grip was. Jenna watched as Karly swallowed again slightly, most likely due to Bane's voice, and when he let go of her hand, Karly took a small step back. "It is my understanding that your... expertise... is the best that money can buy?"

"Yes," Karly replied. "I was well informed of your operations and tasks I am to carry out by my father prior to my departure out here. I-"

"Good man," Bane interrupted, an all-knowing grin sliding onto his lips. Karly could tell he was smiling, although she wasn't entirely sure why he was.

"He told me nothing specific though," Karly went on, her voice dropping to a lower tone. "And to be honest I'm a little confused as to why you needed me in the first place. My-"

"It'll all be explained in due time, my dear," Bane interrupted again. "My operation and plans are far more advanced than anything I can guarantee you or Mr. Treaffluw have ever dealt with... therefore I can't just be trusting _anyone _with knowledge of them. When we need you, we will call, and inform you on what is to be done only _when _it needs to be done. For now-" he paused, taking a small step back, ready to go back inside and be through with this nearly pointless meeting. "_Jenna _will be escorting you to your hotel. Reservations are under your name and you are to be staying in room number fifty-three."

Jenna had jumped slightly when she heard her name, and she watched for a moment as Isaac started over to the work bench to retrieve the keys to Challenger. When she glanced back over to Bane, she noticed he had turned his head and was staring at her along with Karly. She watched as Jenna approached. Although she wore nearly the same uniform as everyone else, Karly noticed how slightly nervous she appeared to get the closer she got to Bane. Karly crossed her arms once Jenna had approached them, and she stared into her aqua eyes before Jenna glanced over at Isaac just as he approached her to hand the keys. Karly glanced away from Jenna when she noticed Bane glance back at her from the corner of her eye.

"You'll be riding in the black car," Bane said as he nodded toward the car parked outside of the garage. "We'll be keeping in touch."

The next thing Karly knew two other men were picking up her two big bags and starting toward the car to load them in the trunk. She smiled slightly and nodded, understanding her cue, and without a word she started over to the car herself to open up the passenger side door before getting inside. Jenna had turned to start over to the car too, but her body froze when she felt Bane grip her arm and pull her back toward him. It was at the tip of her tongue to scold him for grabbing her like that, but once she glanced up at him she immediately remembered who she was dealing with, and she swallowed her words back.

"The hotel is on Wadsworth street, straight off of 83, which you are to turn right on off of the property," Bane told Jenna as he motioned to the main street in front of the warehouse. "Drop her off, and only leave after she has accepted her key, do you understand?"

_Why wouldn't I? _Jenna wanted to sourly retort back, but rather than speaking at all, she merely nodded her head. Bane stared into her eyes for a short second longer before he finally released her arm, and he watched her for a moment as she started over to the car. Isaac stared at Jenna as she started past, and he waited for her to stop and ask him for better directions, plead for a way to get out of her task or complain about driving at night. He grew surprised, however, when Jenna said nothing to him, and continued on to the car to get inside. Jenna wanted to ask for better directions at least, but she knew Bane would probably flip if he actually witnessed her being so weak and lacking such simple confidence. And at the same time, she could feel Karly glaring at her through the windshield, and for some reason or another, Jenna didn't want this random woman to witness that either.

Before starting the car, Jenna took out a cigarette from the pack Isaac had given her, and after she lit it up, she started the car, rolled down the window slightly, and started to back away before she corrected the wheel to head straight, trying to keep her cool all the while. As she drove toward the main road, she noticed Karly resting comfortably in her seat, with her hands folded on her lap. Jenna remembered the first time she had been in this car; she had felt so disgusted with the interior and uncomfortable with allowing any part of her body to touch the exposed metal. She frowned before glancing away from Karly, and once she reached the light, she turned right onto the main road. A moment later, Karly spoke up.

"So are you the hostage around here, or something?" She asked, taking Jenna by surprised, and she glanced over to her with furrowed eyebrows. How had Karly made that to sound like such a casual question?

"No," Jenna immediately defended. Karly wasn't looking at her, and she shrugged as she continued to stare out window, remembering how nervous Jenna had looked and how Bane had grabbed her arm and forced her back toward him.

"It seems like it to me," Karly returned.

"Well I'm _not_," Jenna continued to defend before she took a long drag from her cigarette, thankful that the headlights had turned themselves on. She had no idea where that button would even have been located.

"If not a hostage, then what exactly _are _you around here?"

Jenna was still frowning. "'New recruit' is the term used the most."

"I can tell," Karly replied, her all-knowing tone of voice getting on Jenna's nerves more and more. During her 'old' life, Jenna would have never allowed anyone to speak to her like that, and now, since Bane wasn't around to witness her being disrespectful to his hired help, she wasn't going to allow it.

"And who exactly are _you_?" Jenna asked back now as she took another drag, Karly finally glancing over to her. Her eyes roamed over Jenna's body for a split second before she smirked.

"I'm the daughter of Tyler Treaffluw, one of the head criminals in various cities. I run and own my own securities system, offering the most advanced security technology to banks, federal buildings and the like, which comes in great handy for my father's operations. I'd assume, being one of Bane's... _new recruits_, that you would have heard of either me or my father?"

"Nope," Jenna replied sternly, wanting to see Karly's confidence squander suddenly. "Never heard of either of you."

"Well..." Karly began, still looking at Jenna. "You will. Bane was smart to have recruited me."

Jenna wanted to know how Bane knew of these people, but she wasn't in the mood to ask. She took another drag from her cigarette, hoping that Karly would stop talking.

–

Fortunately, the rest of the ride was silent, leaving Jenna the opportunity to concentrate on her driving and successfully find the hotel Karly was to be staying at. She tried her best to park the car in front of the building, conveniently located away from anywhere important, and she put the car in park before Karly started to open the door. Jenna watched her, slightly disappointed when she realized Karly was not one to expect help with her bags, and after Jenna heard the trunk close, she rolled her eyes to herself as she glanced away to pick up her pack of cigarettes to pull another one out.

When she finally glanced up after lighting it, she realized that Karly was still at the front desk. Jenna watched her speak with the man behind the counter through the window, and she cocked an eyebrow, knowing it did not take long to state the name of the reservations and accept the key for a hotel room. She watched now as Karly handed the man some cash before he slid over a piece of paper to her, and after Karly signed it she handed it back to the man before he handed her a room key. Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as Karly picked up her bags to start over to the elevator, and for some reason she found Karly's actions to be rather suspicious. She couldn't explain it, but suddenly she had the undying urge to find out if Karly had paid to stay in another room, and if so, which room she was now in. _"My operation and plans are far more advanced than anything I can guarantee you or Mr. Treaffluw have ever dealt with... therefore I can't just be trusting anyone with knowledge of them..." _Bane had told her. Jenna nodded to herself as she thought back to his words. _Smart_, she thought to herself. Karly, clearly, was somebody who was already proving herself untrustworthy.

Before she could stop herself, Jenna found herself taking the keys from the ignition and throwing her cigarette on the ground before she closed the door behind her. She couldn't explain why, but she felt that informing Bane of this, if anything was even going on, would be the right thing to do. Plus, she could only imagine how furious he might be if he discovered Jenna had observed Karly deceit him, and never bothered to inform him of it. If anything, Karly was probably switching rooms for her own protection, which was smart on her end, but Jenna was on team Bane, and whether she was told first hand or not, she knew it was now her duty to help ensure everything went right for him. Otherwise, it could be the death of her...

She took in a deep breath once she reached the doors, and she hoped that the man behind the counter would not recognize her. She could only imagine how hard it would be to explain to Bane that she was only trying to help him before everything went wrong. _Help_, Jenna repeated to herself as she opened the doors. What was wrong with her?

She tried to keep her head down as she approached the counter, remembering when Isaac commanded her to not let anyone see her eyes. Once she reached the counter, the man glanced up at her, and Jenna instantly began to speak.

"Hi, I was just wondering if a woman named Karly... Treaffluw had already checked in?"

The man turned to pick up his check-in book, but as he thumbed through it he glanced back up at Jenna.

"Perhaps. How come?"

"I'm her friend," Jenna went on. "We got separated during our road trip here."

The man bought her lie. "She just checked in. Room number seventy-nine. Do you need a room?"

"Umm, I'm not sure yet," Jenna went on smoothly with a small smile, and she fought to keep her eyes from directly looking into the man's. "I was hoping to talk to her and see what the plan is. You know, if we're staying in the same room or not?"

The man nodded slightly. "Alright," he said, and without another word he closed the book and began to turn around. Jenna grinned, proud of herself as she turned to start over to the hallway that contained the elevator, but once she approached it, she glanced over her shoulder, and once she saw the man had gone into the back, she continued down the hall to exit out of a back door.

After circling the building and getting back to her car, Jenna found the ride back to go smoothly. She wasn't sure if it was true or not, but she felt as though her driving seemed much better, for she felt as though she had an easier time keeping the car straight. She managed to get back to the warehouse smoothly, all the while proud of herself for her actions, but as she pulled into the property of the warehouse, her confidence high started to come down as she realized she was now forced to have more one-on-one time with Bane. After what had happened, she found herself dreading this more than usual.

The outside of the warehouse was bare, and after Jenna parked the car somewhat crookedly next to Isaac's truck, she locked the doors behind her, placed the keys on the work bench, and started toward the stairs. She opened the door and stepped into the warehouse, and she took in deep breaths as she descended the stairs before heading over to Bane's closed door. Once she approached it, she took another deep breath before she left three knocks on the wood, noticing finally the entire basement was empty. Where was everyone?

"Who is it?" Bane asked from where he sat at the desk, his eyes focused on the task at hand, and he waited for a response.

_"Jenna_," she finally replied, and his eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he carried on with what he was doing. Only after he finished, he set the item down on the desk before he slowly stood from the chair to start over to the door. When he opened it, he saw that Jenna was staring at the bottom of the door, and when she finally glanced up at him, he watched as she quickly reverted her gaze away.

"What is it, Jenna?" He finally asked her, deciding right there and then that if this wasn't deathly important, than he would have to teach her a painful lesson about when it was acceptable to bother him.

"Karly made it inside. She got her key," Jenna started, unaware that meanwhile Bane had rolled his eyes as he stepped back from the door, ready to close it.

"I never told you to check back with me, Jenna," he said, wondering why he felt so patient. "If that's all then I-"

"No," Jenna interrupted him, finally glancing up to look into his eyes. He paused just before he had been ready to close the door, and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"She paid to stay in another room," Jenna said quickly, feeling nervousness flood her as she stared into Bane's eyes, memories of their previous actions returning to her mind. A shock ran up her spine, but she forced herself to ignore this.

"How do you know this?" Bane asked her.

"I watched her," Jenna replied. "And then I went inside to check for myself."

This news was shocking to Bane, and for a moment he was unsure of what to say. He remained staring intently at her, wondering why Jenna had felt the need to do that.

"How?"

"I asked the guy at the counter where she was staying. He told me, and I left."

"Did he recognize you?"

"It didn't seem so," Jenna said. "She's staying in room seventy-nine. Under the same name. Which if she's trying to protect herself by staying in another room, you think she'd be fucking smart enough to go under a different name," she mumbled as she glanced away, and she grew shocked when she heard Bane chuckle.

"It seems as though Ms. Treaffluw's presence annoys you greatly," Bane said, and Jenna watched as he turned around to head further into his room. Usually, this was an open invitation for Jenna to step inside as well, but before she could remind herself that it was probably a horrible idea, she found herself stepping into his room behind him. His room was practically dark, the only light shining dimly from somewhere near his bed, and she waited for her eyes to adjust as she stared at the back of his vest.

"You believe me?" She asked as he stepped up to his desk. Due to her previous behavior, Jenna couldn't help but to have a hard time believing Bane so easily believed her about this.

"Why wouldn't I?" Bane asked back. "I don't know why you would have any reason to come up with such a lie. Unless, you _do _have a reason?"

Jenna was about to answer, but she paused when her eyes found Bane's hands picking up two used syringes from the desk, and her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him throw them away.

"What were those?" She asked before she could stop herself, and Bane glanced over at her as he turned to face the dresser.

"Necessary nutrients the body needs to sustain," Bane replied as he bent down in front of the dresser. Jenna was still staring at him as he reached out toward the bottom drawer. _Food_, she thought to herself, _would have been the easier answer._

"And you..._ injected_ those?"

"As I've told you, Jenna, this mask does not come off," Bane replied as he opened the drawer. There was no need to go on about this, he figured that Jenna's deathly silence meant she was through asking questions as well, though she became confused when she watched Bane take out her purse from the drawer before he closed it. He stood up slowly before glancing back at her, and Jenna glanced up at him as he handed out the bag to her.

"What's this for?"

"You managed to prove honesty, bravery, and loyalty to me tonight, without have even being asked. As a chance to further your progress, I'm offering you the opportunity to prove to me that you won't do anything senseless if I give you your items back. All I ask, however, is that you dispose of your phone."

"Why do you want _me_ to do it?" Jenna asked, truly confused. If Bane didn't want her to have her phone, why couldn't he get rid of it himself? At the same time, Jenna was just surprised that he hadn't even broken it yet. She finally reached out to accept her purse, and she gasped slightly when her hand made contact with his. As she took hold of the bag, her fingers brushed against Bane's, and when she slowly glanced up at him, she saw he was staring at their hands. She finally took hold of the leather handle straps, and once Bane let the item slip past his fingers, Jenna let the purse slide down her arm, and she bent it at the elbow to keep it there. The room was filled with Bane's breathing, and Jenna slowly removed her glance from him just as he finally started to speak.

"As I said, I'm offering you a chance to further your progress. Dispose of the phone yourself, and perhaps things around here will become that much easier for you."

Jenna nodded slightly to herself as she glanced down into her bag, and already she could see her phone and wallet inside. She wondered if Bane would allow her to do anything with her money, and she wondered how many times Rodger had called and texted her. _Oh God_, Jenna thought to herself. He was probably beside himself with worry and confusion. She wondered suddenly if Bane would allow her to send him just one text message, explaining that she was alive and... well? _Sorta well_, Jenna thought to herself. _It could be worse_.

Bane had just started to turn around when Jenna finally spoke up, halting him mid-turn. "Bane?" She asked, feeling dizzy upon speaking his name. He paused before turning back around, and as Jenna stared at his boots she could feel his cold, hard gaze on her, and although she found herself wishing she hadn't spoke up at all, she willed herself to remain strong. "Could I maybe call... or text... my friend Rodger?" She asked slowly, finally lifting her head and eyes to look up at him. She was shocked to find his gaze wasn't as cold and harsh as she was expecting, and just barely she was able to detect the light gray color of his eyes. "Just to let him know I'm... okay?"

"Are you okay, Jenna?" Bane asked, his question catching her off guard.

"What?" She asked back slowly, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Given the situation and the prediction of what is to come, can you stand there and honestly tell me that your life right now is _okay_?"

Jenna's eyes rolled down and to the left in the thought, and she found herself feeling dizzier and dizzier. "I guess not," she spoke the truth before she could stop herself.

"Which words would you use?"

Jenna knew she'd never be able to get use to his voice. Every time he spoke, no matter the pitch or tone, it always sent a shock down her spine, making her lose her train of thought for mere seconds before she could finally concentrate again. "Confusing... unfair... unnerving... _annoying_..."

Jenna couldn't help but to jump slightly when she heard Bane chuckle, and her eyebrows furrowed again as she glanced up at him. Jenna's honesty was amusing, Bane couldn't help but to chuckle at her last word, but the word before had heightened his interest. "Unnerving, you say? What around here makes you lose so much confidence, or makes you that nervous?"

"You're really asking that question?" Jenna mumbled as she glanced away and crossed her arms, her bag still hanging from her arm, but as soon as the question she had meant to only ask in her head audibly escaped past her lips, she immediately glanced back to Bane, both surprised and relieved when she was able to tell he was not angry with her tone, for whatever reason...

"You," Jenna replied honestly, having a hard time believing her and Bane were having such a deep conversation. Bane couldn't help but to grin, and Jenna watched him as he turned to take a seat on the edge of his bed.

"How?" He asked her slowly, in a tone of voice that suggested he truly was curious. Jenna sighed as she turned her body to face him more, and she subconsciously took a step closer to him.

"You're not necessary the annoying one around here," Jenna began, referring to Bane's henchmen and Isaac's mood swing just previously. "But every second I feel like the potential to screw up is bigger than the opportunity to do right. I never asked for any of this, and now I'm being forced to carry out tasks that I can barely handle, and you hang death over my head every day as a threat to do what you say. It's all confusing because– because..."

She trailed off, her lips ready to remind the both of them about what had previously happened, but she had stopped herself short, not entirely ready to go there. All the while Bane had been watching her, his eyes roaming all over her face as she spoke. Her black, tangled and wavy hair appeared soft as it framed her face and hung past her shoulders. Her dark, smeared make-up that was left over from days ago made her eyelashes appear even longer than they were, and her eyes brighter. His eyes dropped down her lips, and as he stared at them –so pink and plump as she blurted out the truth– a thought occurred to him that he would have never expected to enter his mind.

He pictured them in his room, and him standing in front of her with his hands on her exposed hips. The thought sent a small shock down his spine, but that wasn't what the worst part was. As he stared down at her and her up at him, his face was free of any mask. He didn't know what the entirety of his face looked like, and he never would, but he could feel the damage that had been caused. A permanent, crooked nose that had never, and would never heal right, cut, scarred and forever bruised beyond anyone's belief... cut and crooked lips – whenever he licked them he could feel the three areas where his lips has been cut open and never healed correctly: a slash on the lower left of his lip, a slash on the upper contour of his lip that permanently caused the right corner to snarl up slightly, and a small slash that traveled horizontally along his bottom lip. The skin was raised and scarred here, and in his mind he was picturing what he would appear to look like. Jenna was staring at him, her eyes big, curious, and bright, as he stared down her, until suddenly, Bane pictured himself leaning down and actually touching his lips against hers...

The unwanted thought caused an even stronger shock to run up his spine, and he closed his eyes suddenly, willing the thoughts away, but much to his dismay they continued. His grip on her hips tightened, the kiss grew stronger and firmer, and the raging desire was powerful and unstoppable. Having never kissed anybody like that, Bane's mind took his thoughts to places he would have never imagined. As she kissed him back just as firmly, he felt her trace her tongue along the horizontal scar on his bottom lip, and he gripped her hips even tighter, tight enough to cause bruises, and he daringly did the same to her. Jenna did not pull back or squeak in pain, and rather she wrapped her arms tightly around him, bringing herself even closer to him as their tongues slowly danced...

_No. _That would never happen. It couldn't happen, and this was a good thing, Bane thought as he forced the images away. But the shocks and dizzy sensation remained strong. He was strong enough to never allow himself to do that, even given the chance. But... was he? He was suddenly reminded of his and Jenna's actions just a short hour prior. That plan had gone seriously amiss, and he had lost control of himself. He had just wanted to put an end to their feelings; he never expected for it to go so far, and for him to _force _himself to stop. He had never felt like this, ever, in his entire life, and after expecting himself to never feel this way, it was even more overbearing and shocking that he was now. All because of this random girl.

But what she had done after he ordered her out of his room was something Bane had never expected, and it had distracted him from everything ever since he witnessed her finish herself off. When she left, he had turned the TV back on to view what his cameras all around the building were picking up, as he usually did. He had watched her pace around for a moment before he turned to find his vest, but when he turned back around to casually glance back up at the TV with raging eyes, he froze entirely when he saw that she was in her cot, her head tilted back, eyes closed, mouth hung open as movement occurred under the blanket, right over her most sensitive of spots. Bane couldn't tear his eyes away, his heart had begun to race as he watched her. His heart was beginning to race now just thinking back to it. He had expected Jenna to simply go back into her room and pout, not finish herself off because he had ended their actions too early. But what did it mean? _That's ridiculous_, Bane thought to himself. He knew what it meant. But he didn't want to face the truth. Especially when he had been left feeling built-up and unfinished himself when she closed the door behind her.

Jenna had grown incredibly silent, and she grew even more bewildered when Bane suddenly closed his eyes tightly, as if getting frustrated or trying to tune her out. He remained that way for a while, and when Jenna's eyes slid down she noticed his hands were clutched into tight fists, his muscles flexed slightly, much to her dismay. She allowed her eyes to wander up his arm slowly, and she jumped slightly when her eyes finally found his eyes open and staring back at her. At that moment, Bane knew she was more than likely thinking the same thoughts he was, and suddenly the desire to reach out and touch her grew incredibly unbearable. But regardless, Bane forced himself to remain still as he stared at her while Jenna struggled to do the same.

"Call your friend... tell him where you are and inform him that you're confused, being treated unfairly and feel unnerved because of _me_," Bane began in an even tone of his voice as his eyes wandered to the left in thought, Jenna's eyes still fixed intently on him. "And then I will kill him."

Jenna's lips parted. "Why?" She breathed.

"To prevent what his next, unintelligent actions would be," Bane replied in matter-of-fact tone of voice, his eyes slowly roaming back to hers. Her body was stiff, though her hands shook slightly, and it was ridiculously evident to him that she was having a hard time standing still.

"What would they be?" She had meant for her questions to put an end to or at least distract them from this increasing, tense moment, but much to her despair they were only prolonging it, and making it worse. She knew what she wanted to do, and she was ninety percent sure Bane was probably desiring the same thing. But she wouldn't dare be the first one to move. It was clear to her that after Bane had kicked her out, he was through with these moments and was desperate to put an end to them, but here she was, wrapped up in the most intense moment yet as he allowed it to happen and linger. She knew she should turn and walk out of his door right there and then, not look back and continue on outside for fresh, calming air, but not only could her body not move, but she found that she really, truly, did not want to do that at all.

"He would call the police... they would rush down _here... _an all out, unnecessary war would occur while your friend would find a way to sneak you away... from me."

Jenna wasn't sure if the moment had built up too much or if it was the last two words Bane had spoken, but regardless if they carried the meaning she had interpreted them to have, she lunged herself forward, her purse sliding from her arm and hitting the floor, her shaking body going against her mind one-hundred percent as all self control was lost, and just as she approached him, ready to straddle his lap, Bane was already reaching out and taking a firm hold of her hips. Her mind went fuzzy and the room spun as she expected Bane to counter her actions by shoving her away from him, but she grew not only surprised, but relieved in all the wrong ways when he only assisted her with lowering herself onto his lap. He pulled her toward him, his grip tightening, and he violently forced her down on top of him. Jenna grunted slightly when her body made contact with his, and she spread her legs further as she straightened and arched her back, her eyes sliding closed when she felt Bane's strong hands travel behind her, his fingers roaming over her ass before they traveled back up the sides of her back. Jenna couldn't help but to moan at this as she leaned forward, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was mere inches away from his neck.

As his fingers continued to press into her skin through her shirt and roam upwards, she couldn't help but lean forward and press her lips against the curve of his neck. Bane's eyes slid closed, and the low, barely audible groan that escaped from him only drove Jenna further, and her mind went blank as she gently bit down on his skin, desperate to use her lips on him somehow as she silently cursed him about his mask. When her teeth gently clenched down on the curve of his neck, Bane felt himself nearly lose it, and from where his hands were on the middle of her back, her stretched his fingers to clutch her shirt on either side of her spine, and he pulled, tearing the shirt apart from the middle. When Jenna felt her shirt being ripped, she bit down on him harder out of desire and slight anger, and just when she felt the cold hit her exposed back, Bane finished ripping her shirt with ease, and he carelessly dropped it to the floor.

Jenna growled –she didn't have many other black shirts– but regardless she bit down even harder, suddenly desperate to inflict some sort of pain of him, if that were at all possible, but as soon as she had Bane was suddenly slamming his hands back on her hips and standing up.

Jenna pulled away from his neck as she wrapped her legs as tight as she could around him, and she groaned when she felt him against her. Bane was heading toward the opened door, and after he moved it away from the wall with his foot, he suddenly pushed Jenna against it, slamming the door shut with a bang that echoed throughout the basement, and Jenna grunted at the slight pain. Her legs were still wrapped around him, and once she felt Bane loosen his grip on her hips and start to travel up, she knew exactly what was going to happen next, and she instantly removed her hands from his body as she leaned forward. She reached behind her to take hold of the clasp on her bra, and before Bane could rip and break this off of her as well, she easily undid it and let the black straps fall past her shoulders as she brought her arms forward again. Holding her against the door, Bane stared down at her collarbones as he brought his hands up to finish sliding the straps down her soft arms, and after she had lifted them slightly to remove the bra completely, Bane grabbed it and tossed it behind him, the bra landing directly on top of the desk after it hit the wall, underneath the TV. Bane never really had any fantasies about a situation such as this, but regardless, he found the will to carry on too strong, and he slid his fingers up Jenna's sides before firmly grabbing both of her breasts.

Jenna's eyes squeezed shut as she let out a moan. It scared her how ridiculously good Bane's giant, rough hands on her felt, and she allowed her body to lean back and her head to rest against the door as Bane moved his hands slowly up and down, his fingers roaming gently over her nipples. Bane's eyes watched his movements, his mind barely able to fathom what he was doing, but his body urged him on.

Jenna was still moaning, and only after she forced them to die down, she finally spoke up through her heavy breathing. "How far is this going to go?" She gasped, her eyes opening to stare into his when he finally glanced up at her.

"As far as it needs to," Bane replied, his voice sending electrifying chills down her spine that only added to her desires, and Bane couldn't help but to grin when Jenna brought herself closer to him as she tightened her hold on him with her legs. She was desperate to kiss him; although she found herself enjoying this more than she could have ever wanted or imagined, the moment was continuously calling for a kiss, and Jenna found herself unsure, really, of what to do next. She thought back to her dream, and what it had felt like in her thoughts to kiss him, and as she did she moved her hands over both of his arms while he moved his hands back to her hips, and she closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of his flexed muscles while Bane enjoyed the feel of her hands on him.

The desire to see Bane shirtless again instantly caught up with her, though as her eyes roamed over his bulky vest, she wasn't entirely sure how to go about with taking it off. Various straps snapped and buckled together, but regardless of confusion, she fought through her hesitation and reached out to immediately start to try taking it off. Bane paused for a moment as Jenna struggled, and his bone chilling chuckle immediately caused Jenna to pause as well before she slowly glanced up at him.

"Do you want this off?" He asked in an amused tone of voice. Jenna merely nodded, and her eyes lowered back to his chest as he let go of her hips to undo a buckle that was attached to the large belt he wore as well. Once this was done, he started to lift the vest from his body, and Jenna followed its movement upward before Bane removed his arms from it. He let it fall carefully to the floor next to him, and he had just caught Jenna biting her lip as she stared at his chest before she reached out to rake her nails down his chest as hard as she could. Bane closed his eyes, a small groan escaping through his mask. Her nails raking down him didn't hurt in the slightest –it actually felt pretty good– but Bane understood her intentions, and he wasn't going to let them go unpunished.

"Ah," he began slowly as he opened his eyes to patiently but fiercely stare into Jenna's. "You want to play _that _game."

Before she could react, Bane suddenly took hold of her wrists with both of his hands, and he watched Jenna's eyes close and her face cringe as he turned her wrists and arms to a painful position, and he held them away from his body, enjoying the pained look on her face. Without warning, he suddenly turned them away from the door and took a few large steps toward his bed to let Jenna fall on top, letting the desire and intensity of the moment guide him to his next actions as they went on.

She grunted as she hit his bed, surprised with how rather stiff the mattress was, but rather than allowing her mind to enthuse the fact that she was actually _on _his bed, she tried not to think too much as she enjoyed the feel of Bane releasing her arms. The pain faded away, and as it did Jenna moved her right leg to the other side of him, and once she did Bane moved to lean over her, holding himself high above her with his outstretched arms. He stared into her eyes, trying to decipher the emotions they held while Jenna did the same. They both held still, wondering what, exactly, to do next. Jenna's chest heaved up and down as she struggled to catch her breath, and she listened to Bane's slow and staggered breathing, the noise filling the entire room. Eventually, staring into Bane's eyes became too intense, and Jenna glanced down as she bent both of her knees on either side of Bane. She reached down with either hand to the laces of her boots, and as she started to undo the ties Bane glanced down as well, watching her fingers pull apart the bow, and when he glanced back to her Jenna started to loosen the laces.

As she stared into his eyes, she was sickeningly disappointed when rational thoughts started to force themselves through. Her heart started to race as she finally realized what she had done and allowed, and as she continued to lay underneath him and loosen the laces, reaching as far down as she could, she began to feel nervous. She was anticipating for them to finish entirely, but would they actually? She could barely detect the same feelings lingering in Bane's eyes, and while a part of her found herself wishing that Bane would kick her out again, right now, she was also wishing that one of them would say something to break the tension.

But Bane never spoke, and neither did she. Once her laces were loosened as far as she could reach, she started to take her left boot off, trying not to move so much as she wiggled her foot to help the boot slide down her leg. The noise the boot made when it fell to the ground was the equivalent of a bomb going off in the near silent room, and Bane's eyes roamed down to her throat when she swallowed. He could sense her increasing nervousness, and much to his dismay rational thoughts had caught up to him as well.

But what was shocking was he didn't want to have them. He knew if he thought too much now, he would banish Jenna from his room again, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could stand the tension between them. So rather than focusing on the thoughts, he allowed himself to picture kissing her again. He became so consumed in the thought that he barely heard Jenna's right boot fall noisily to the floor, and just a short moment after, Jenna was running her fingers over his arms again.

Just that simple touch was all it took for the intensity to rush back, and as soon as it had Bane was leaning up to place both of his hands on either side of the button on Jenna's cargo pants. She watched him do this, but as soon as her eyes found his hands Bane was already pulling on the material, and Jenna's eyes widened as she felt and watched her brand new pants split apart from the middle. The urge to scream '_no!' _and stop him was short lived by the time the deed was already done, and a small hint of anger washed over her when she realized literally almost everything she had been wearing was now destroyed. She stupidly reached out to grab his wrists, and without thinking she dug her nails into the skin there as hard as she could, but as soon as she felt her nails enter his skin he was suddenly reaching up with his left hand to take a firm hold of her jaw. Her body stiffened as intense pain ran from the area his fingertips squeezed on to her whole body, it seemed, and she stared up at him with slightly fearful eyes as she felt him yank her pants down. Any sign of nervous or unsure emotions had disappeared completely from his eyes, and had been replaced with fiery desire and intensity. The look in his eyes made her feel hot and nervous, but unfortunately ridiculously turned on and revengeful at the same time. She might not be able to inflict any sort of severe pain on him, but she knew exactly how she'd be able to fight back with just as much fire.

When Bane felt her kick off her pants, he loosened his grip on her jaw, and as soon as he had Jenna reached out to grab his shoulders, and out of curiosity he allowed her to push him back. Once he was up far enough to her liking, she started to move from under him, and never removing her hands from his shoulder, she pushed on them just so, signaling to Bane she wanted him to turn around and lay on his back. Bane was happy to comply. Never breaking eye contact, he turned around while Jenna did the same, and he sighed quietly when his back rested against the mattress, his head on the pillows, and his eyes widened slightly when Jenna lowered herself directly on top of him. His heart racing, his eyes followed her hands as she leaned over him, and he watched as she slid off the last undamaged article of clothing from her body, leaving her entirely exposed when she tossed her black underwear behind her. Bane watched as they hit the wall before falling to the ground, but his attention was instantly taken when he felt Jenna's fingertips sliding up his thighs toward his belt. Eyes still wide, he turned his head back to her, and he paused when Jenna leaned over slightly further until her lips were just centimeters away from his right ear from under the mask.

"Two can play at your game of pain," Jenna purred, surprised that she had even found the courage to say that, but she kept her mind blank as she grinned when she started to lean up slightly. Bane's lips parted from under his mask, and he was just about to speak until he felt Jenna's fingers slip under his massive belt. His eyes widened more as blood rushed downward, and he instinctively reached down to take a loose hold of his belt, his way of letting Jenna know that the belt would not be coming off. She had seen this when she glanced down, and she easily undid the two buttons on his pants before she unzipped them with quivering hands. As she started to slide them down, she glanced back to Bane's eyes, and her grin widened when she saw that anticipation was eating away at him as he watched her hands, lifting his hips slightly to further aid her.

The further she managed to slide his pants and underwear down, the more she could feel the muscles that laced his thighs, and she closed her eyes and let out a sigh at the feel. Once she had reached her arms back as far as she could, leaving the majority of him exposed, she brought her hands back forward as Bane finished with kicking his own boots and clothing off. In the mere seconds she had left as she hovered over him, she curiously glanced down to peek at his newest exposed body part –huge and practically pulsating with arousal and want – and she bit down on her bottom lip as she slowly glanced at him again. Bane had seen her do this, and without warning he suddenly took a firm hold of her hips, vastly enjoying the pained whimper that escaped from her as her face cringed. He understood finally what she had meant, and he was not going to allow her teasing to cause him pain in a way he never knew existed. Jenna fought through the physical pain, and in a desperate attempt to dominate, she lifted herself up before she quickly lowered herself onto his dick.

Bane's eyes widened as far as they possible could before they naturally slid closed, and as he let out a loud, prolonged sigh, Jenna couldn't help but to moan out loudly. Bane was unlike anybody she had ever felt –no one had ever filled her up so entirely, both width and length wise– and Jenna's tight, wet walls clenching around him was unlike anything Bane had ever felt before. His body tensed, his grip on her hips tightening as his own way to reclaim authority, and Jenna groaned in pain as his fingers applied pressure to the large bruises that had already formed. She gritted her teeth as she clutched on the white sheets of his bed, and she shut her eyes even tighter as she started to move her hips back and forth and side to side painstakingly slowly. Bane's grip loosed again as he was lost in the sensations caused by her, and Jenna felt her body quiver when Bane groaned. She let out a large breath before she suddenly sat up, her eyes opening along with Bane's, and she stared down at him as she began to move up and down, moving quicker and quicker as she went along. His heart racing faster and the room beginning to spin, not even a full minute after Jenna had started doing this Bane was leaning up to grab her body, and Jenna gasped as he managed to stand up. She quickly wrapped her legs around him, and before she knew it she was being shoved against the wall next to the door, her head hitting the wall harder than she would have liked.

"You're playing a dangerous game," Bane growled just as she had opened her eyes, but once she had she was instantly closing them again when Bane violently shoved himself inside her again. Pain flooded her body –Bane's size had made Jenna realize instantly that sex with him would mean slow movements at first– and as Bane started to thrust, Jenna's face twisted into an expression of pure pain. Bane grinned as he stared down at her, holding her against the wall with ease with his hands on either side of her ass, and just to add to his aggressive lesson, he squeezed on her ass nearly as hard as he could. Jenna cried out in pain and slight pleasure at this, and she titled her head back as Bane continued to show his dominance.

Eventually, the intense pain started to fade into slight pleasure, and before she knew it she was moaning again, her pained expression fading as her mouth hung open. She felt herself nearing her finish quickly, but deep down she was not ready to give into Bane. Whether it was her death wish or not, Jenna leaned forward to immediately bite the curve of Bane's neck, and just when his eyes closed and a sigh escaped from him, she quickly ran her tongue over the area she had bitten before she moved her tongue all the way up his neck, and she only stopped when she reached his jaw, just below his mask. Bane's body quivered, and he groaned again before he was suddenly turning them away from the wall. He shoved Jenna onto the edge the bed now, closest to the wall, and he continued to pound himself into her, enjoying how squeals of pain were mixed beautifully throughout her moans of pleasure.

A new, strong sensation started to overtake him once he felt the walls of Jenna's pussy clench around him, and just when she began to cry out, her eyes closing tightly as she clutched the sheets, Bane's own eyes closed as he came as well. The feeling was something he had never anticipating experiencing, and the sensation left him feeling an odd mix of empowerment, exhaustion, and desire for more.

Jenna was struggling to catch her breath once Bane had finish spilling himself into her, and his eyes slowly opened as his body went slightly numb. His gray eyes were wide as he stared down at Jenna, and though rational thoughts wanted to make themselves known, it took little effort to keep them away. Bane was breathing deeper and harder than Jenna had ever heard, and while the sound was deathly scary, it seemed to be the perfect cherry on top of the intensity. Sex had turned into a fight of dominance, and though Jenna wasn't sure who had won, she found herself feeling tired and confused as Bane pulled himself out of her. She instantly moved her body up toward the pillows on the top of the bed, but this proved to be too difficult, and she instantly cringed in pain again as her body collapsed onto the mattress. She groaned to herself as she rolled onto her stomach more, and when she felt Bane lay beside her she turned her head on the pillow to watch as he lifted his hips slightly, cringing himself, before he rested them comfortably on his side of the bed. His eyes were closed as he lay still on his back, and Jenna stared at him for a moment before her eyes wandered down his body. She was easily able to see the bite marks on his neck and the eight, bright red, long scratch marks down his chest and and stomach, and with further staring, she could see where her nails had broken through the skin on his wrist. Bane appeared incredibly tired as he fought to catch his breath, but Jenna knew that pain wise, he had definitely won. Her body throbbed and ached, and she was positive she would be unable to stand and walk, let alone simply turn over in his bed. Her legs, her lower stomach, her ass, her hips, arms, wrists and jaw all pulsated with pain, and she slowly slid her eyes closed as she struggled to focus on something else. She knew she had been successful in her own way, however, for her actions had left Bane fatigued, and caused him to be animalistic and beside himself with want and desire during their session. The satisfaction made her want to smile, but she was too tired herself to carry out the action.

The minutes passed slowly, and Jenna felt herself nearing an unconscious state as she listened to Bane's heavy breathing grow fainter and fainter. Sometime later, she felt him start to move off of the bed, and she slowly opened her heavy eyes to watch him as he sat at the edge of the bed, his back hunched. A shock ran through her as she stared at Bane's spinal scar, eying it up and down as she studied the raised and jagged skin as it branched out in every direction. Finally, Bane stood up, and she watched as he started to put his pants back on.

"Are you going to kick me out again?" She forced herself to ask, just speaking proving to be a great effort, and she closed her eyes as she waited for an answer while Bane buttoned the pants.

"You can kick yourself out," he replied, and her eyes opened in just enough time to watch Bane open his door and step outside of it. She anticipated for him to slam it behind him through her confused thoughts, but instead he closed it softly behind him, and she stared at the door for a moment as she continued to lay there, wondering why Bane hadn't furiously forced her out of the room, bare naked or not.

She closed her eyes as she sighed, fixing her head on the pillow as the desire for sleep overtook her, and when she breathed in she was instantly greeted with an odd scent that she could only describe as being musky man soap. Her eyes opened, the smell was... odd... but a moment later, after breathing it in again, she closed her eyes, a deep, insane part of her enjoying the scent, and before she knew it, a deep sleep was instantly overtaking her.

**Leave me a review please! The support toward this story is insane and I'm loving it!**


	11. The Fire Rises

When Jenna started to wake the following morning, something ice cold and hard as concrete was being pressed against her aching body. She kept her eyes closed –her eyelids feeling too heavy to be opened at the moment– and she let out a small, low groan as she tried to turn around. Pain instantly shot through her entire body, erupting from her ass, legs, pelvis and arms all at once, and she immediately ceased movement as she flinched. As more feeling started to come to her body the more she woke up, she finally forced her eyes open, and her heart skipped a beat when she found herself groggily staring at a wall in front of her.

Clenching her teeth and trying to ignore the pain as best she could, she made herself start to turn from her side onto her back, confused as to why she was freezing, but as view of the ceiling and eventually the rest of the basement came into view, she finally realized she was laying on the cold, concrete floor a foot or two up and away from Bane's closed door.

She sat up immediately, recoiling yet again at the pain, and a shocked, squeaking noises escaped from her mouth when the thin blanket that had been draped carelessly over her fell down from her shoulders. Face reddening as she finally realized she was still naked, she immediately grabbed it and held it back up to her shoulders, leaning back as to not let her ass be exposed any more than it already was. Her heart was racing, and she glanced around the dim area with wide, frantic eyes. Her mind was relieved that she was alone in the basement, but her body had started to shake, not only due to its freezing state, but due to seething embarrassment and anger. Glancing down, she finally noticed that her purse, boots, bra, underwear and torn apart pants and shirt had been tossed around her, forcing her to instantly think back to the time she spent with Bane the night before, and finally she realized what he had done.

_That fucking BASTARD! _She cursed in her head, and she shook her head with thinned lips as she immediately started to stand up. She wrapped the blanket around her body, like a towel, faster than a lightening strike, and she continued to curse to herself as she collected her clothes, purse, and shoes. Once they were in her arms, she scurried over to her door, and once she managed to turn the handle, she furiously kicked open the door and stepped inside before she slammed it closed behind her with her foot. She let the clothes fall to the floor, new-found anger rushing over when she caught another site of her destroyed clothes, and she immediately sat down on her cot to catch her breath.

The pain her body was experiencing was somewhat harsh, but unfortunately, regardless of her nights sleep on the concrete with nothing but a thin blanket to cover her, her body felt rather rejuvenated in all the wrong ways. She shook her head as she leaned over to place her head in her hands, her flesh hot, and the more she tried not to think about the night, the easier it became to do just the opposite. She thought about the intensity of the passion, and the site of Bane's body as he fucked her. She bit her lip as she recalled her moans and how incredible the experience had been, and the last thing she remembered was laying in his bed as he exited the room, closing the door gently behind him. She had actually fallen asleep? _Okay..._ she thought, but that wasn't what the point was here. Bane had kicked her out of his room anyway, fine, but he had just _left _her on the floor in the basement, _naked _for everyone to see? Suddenly, his decent act of covering her with a blanket didn't seem so decent anymore, if he had even been the damn one to do it in the first place.

With a sigh she turned around to lay down in her cot, her back facing the door, and she clutched the thin blanket around her, able to feel the cold air going through the fibers and stinging her exposed legs, but as she slid her eyes closed she ignored it, too lazy and weak to get under her thicker blanket. She felt exhausted suddenly, and all she wanted to do was sleep the rest of her life away, but knowing Bane, she knew that he more than likely had other plans for her that day.

As soon as the thought had approached her mind, she heard a door open, and she held her breath as heavy footsteps approached her door. She opened her eyes, hoping and praying that somebody was not about to come inside, but as luck would have it, the door opened suddenly, and she leaned up slightly before turning her head and straining her neck to look over her shoulder. As soon as she witnessed Bane making his way inside her room, that seething anger and embarrassment instantly returned, and she immediately laid back down on the cot.

Bane barely shut the door before he stepped into the room, and his eyes wandered over Jenna's curvy body beneath the blanket he had bestowed her with before they focused on her messy black hair, spilled all around her on the pillow, and only after he had approached the cot did he finally take a breath in to speak, but before he could even say one word, Jenna had beat him to it.

"Get out," she commanded sternly, glaring at the wall with cold eyes. Her brave words took Bane by surprise for a moment, but once the feeling faded as quickly as it had come on, he narrowed his eyes on her.

"You're commanding _me _to leave?" he confirmed. "That's not how it works arou-"

"I don't fucking care," Jenna spat, unable to control herself. "Get the fuck out."

Much to his dismay, Bane had risen that morning feeling rather... _well_... but that feeling was instantly fading due to Jenna's tone with him. Who did she think she was, speaking to him like that? She knew better.

She knew Bane to still be standing behind her, glaring down at her, and although her body was anticipating for him to inflict more pain, her mind was enraged.

"Get up," Bane said to her now. "You have places to be today."

"I'm not going anywhere," Jenna said.

"Oh really?" Bane asked. "_That's _what you think?"

Suddenly, Jenna turned around to glare up at him. "You can't just leave me on the fucking _floor_, ass naked after... after... after _that_. The fuck is wrong with you?"

This was the wrong thing to say entirely. Without warning, Bane suddenly lifted his foot to kick over the cot with ease, and Jenna gasped as she landed on the floor, the cot falling over her, but before she could do anything about it Bane was suddenly tossing it away from her, and bending down to grab her neck. He forced Jenna's body against the wall, and she immediately lifted both of her hands to his wrist to dig her nails into, but with memories of the night before, she knew her actions were probably not hurting him at all. His fingers squeezing her neck, however, was a different story.

"I find your tone to be amusing, and you're lucky I do because I know _you _know better than to talk to _me _like that," Bane began, his gaze heavy and cold as he stared into her eyes. Jenna felt her blanket fall past her shoulders, exposing her breasts and the upper half of her stomach, but she knew she was unable to do anything about this. "You're angry," he stated in a tone that suggested he was accepting of her anger, "but I was angry as well when I came back downstairs to find you _sleeping _in my bed, after I had told you to leave."

"No," Jenna spoke through the pain in a raspy, hoarse voice. "You told me to-"

"_You _disobeyed my orders," Bane snarled back to her, growing frustrated with her stubborn ways. "Why would I allow such a thing? What we did before doesn't matter." Was this a lie?

Jenna dug her nails into his skin even more as she tried to push away his hand. "You could have brought me in _here _at lea-" she was cut off suddenly when Bane squeezed on her neck even harder, and as she stared at him her peripheral vision started to go black as she went lightheaded.

"I could have," Bane agreed simply. "But I didn't." he paused for a moment, watching as Jenna's eyes started to slide closed, her breathing slowing, before he suddenly let go of her throat with such quickness it caused Jenna to jump back into consciousness as Bane stood up. "Get up, get dressed, and meet Barsad outside. _Now_," Bane added in a growl, and Jenna watched with hateful eyes as he turned to step out of her room, not bothering to close the door behind him.

She breathed in and out deeply, her neck starting to hurt now, as well, and with a pout she glanced down the floor. Her eyes found her purse, and although it was tempting to ignore Bane's command and instead look at how many missed calls and texts she had on her phone, she was not ready to be hurt again, so with a frustrated, sad sigh she finally stood from the ground.

After she had fixed her cot and placed the blankets back on top of it, changed into another pair of cargo pants and a plain black tank top, she tied her boots and ventured out of her room and toward the stairs. Bane's door was open, but when she glanced inside his room, unable to help herself, she saw that he was nowhere in sight, and as she started to ascend the stairs she hoped that he would not be outside. Fortunately, Bane was not outside either, and when she stepped into the nearly freezing air, she instantly crossed her arms over her chest.

As she approached the garage, noticing Isaac's truck was still pulled outside of it while various thugs walked around outside, placing things into the back of it, she debating with lighting up a cigarette, but the thought was abandoned when Isaac suddenly approached her out of nowhere.

"This needs to go in the truck," he said quickly as he handed Jenna a large box, and without thinking she held her arms out to take it from him, only to immediately wish she hadn't when the box instantly weighed her down, the object nearly falling from her arms. She caught it, but flinched a second later when she gave in to her weakness, and she set the box down onto the ground. Isaac's eyebrows furrowed at her actions, and he grew slightly curious again when he noticed the bruises on her arms and the way she made a face as she slowly stood back up. Upon traveling downstairs that morning, he had seen Jenna slumbering on the basement floor, but he hadn't allowed himself to think anything of it. Now, however, Isaac found her failed efforts to lift the box amusing. When she glanced at him now, she saw he was smirking.

"The hell happened to you?" Isaac asked, his eyes wandering over her arms again, and when he looked back to her face he saw she was glaring at him.

"Exactly what I tried to tell you last night," Jenna shot back. Isaac was still smirking, but as he thought back to what she had been trying to talk to him about, and the fact that she had been sleeping on the floor outside of Bane's door that morning, Jenna watched his grinning features melt away into a look of concern, and maybe even slight... disgust?

_"What?"_

Jenna rolled her eyes as she started to glance away, feeling slightly embarrassed suddenly. How was it that just when something somewhat _okay_ started to happen, it was instantly overcome by something awful?

"You didn't," Isaac went on now, his cold blue eyes still staring at her.

"_We _did," Jenna emphasized, not liking the way Isaac was making this sound like it had been all her. "It just sort of... happened... I didn't-"

"That box needs to go in the back of the truck," Isaac interrupted, repeating what he had previously told her, realizing Jenna had mistaken his curiosity to mean that he wanted to talk about it. Jenna stopped short, her lips still parted, and her brow furrowed as she stared at him. But Isaac left her no time to say anything else, and Jenna watched as he started off toward the exit door. She turned and watched him disappear inside, and once the door closed she rolled her eyes to herself and turned back to the box, wondering what Isaac's deal was lately and how she was supposed to lift the box. _What the fuck is in here, anyway_?

Gritting her teeth, she bent down and struggled to get a good grip on the box, and once she did, she used her legs to assist with lifting the box, and she grunted as a spurt of pain shot through her body. She tried to ignore it as she started to walk over to his truck, and once she approached the bed, she used all the strength she had left in her to slid the box onto the truck bed. She didn't bother to do anything else with it, and instead she turned away from the truck and started over to the outside of the garage to light up a cigarette.

After she had taken a few drags, Isaac came walking through the garage to step back outside, and once he saw his truck was loaded and ready to go, he instantly glanced at Jenna as he reached into his pocket.

"Go to Karly's hotel and give her this," Isaac said in a tone that suggested he was all business as he handed Jenna a sealed envelope. As Jenna exhaled from her previous hit, she accepted the envelope before instantly glancing up at him.

"What is this?"

"Don't worry about it," Isaac replied as he started past her.

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about me," Isaac said as he glanced over his shoulder. "Do what I told you." Without another word, he opened the door to his truck and instantly climbed inside, and in one smooth action, he started the vehicle before instantly driving away from the garage, the engine loud as he mashed the gas. Jenna stared at the truck until he turned around the corner, and she felt slightly dizzy with confusion as she wondered why he was giving her such a cold shoulder. Just the day before he had been insanely helpful toward her. Actually, ever since she had arrived there he had been helpful. What, exactly, had changed?

Jenna sighed as she turned to step into the garage, deciding she didn't want to think about it. She grabbed the Challenger keys from the work bench, and instead she decided to dread going to see that Karly Trea-fuck-whoever, or whatever. She rolled her eyes as she mangled her name in her head. There was just something about this woman that Jenna did not like.

The ride went smoothly, and before Jenna had time to notice if she was doing anything wrong while driving or even going the right way, she found herself parking crookedly at the hotel. This was shocking to her, but Jenna knew she didn't have much time to sit and reflect on her improved driving, so instead she pushed open the door, stepped out, closed the door and locked the car before she started over to the entrance. Nobody was at the receptionist desk, so with a shrug to herself Jenna started over to the elevators, remembering Karly's switch of rooms. Once the elevator stopped, she stepped out of the doors and instantly headed over to room seventy-nine, and as soon as she left three knocks on the door, something occurred to her.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, Jenna heard someone step over to the door, and a second later she heard the door being unlocked. It opened a second later, and Jenna watched as Karly eased it open.

"Oh, it's just the hostage," Karly said, causing Jenna's eyes to narrow on her. "And here I thought somebody _important _was here." Despite her false, brave tone, it was evident to Jenna that Karly was insanely nervous, more than likely due to the fact that Jenna knew about her room change.

"You know, the weirdest thing happened down in the lobby," Jenna started, ignoring her previous comment. "Bane," she stated quietly before raising her voice level. "Arranged for you to stay in room fifty-three, but when I asked for you, they said that you were staying in this room? Any particular reason as to why?"

Karly glared at her, feeling angry with herself for not anticipating that Jenna was, perhaps, smarter than she looked. At the same time, however, she was expecting for Bane's crew to _call _her, not actually show up. _Shit..._

"I prefer to stay on the top floor," Karly said smoothly.

"Yeah, okay," Jenna replied as she rolled her eyes. "The truth, Karly, or I won't give you this." Jenna lifted up the envelope. Karly noticed it was addressed to her, the same handwriting appearing on the envelope matching the letter she had received inviting her out to Gotham, and she knew instantly that whatever was in that envelope was important.

"It's Ms. Treaffluw to _you_," Karly replied. "And I don't think that's the hostage's decision to make."

"I'm not a damn hostage, _Karly_," Jenna replied, ignoring her request, and Jenna had to wonder where all this annoyance was coming from. It wasn't new to her, before Bane, she had encountered many women she disliked greatly with Rodger at parties they went to. Jenna had established herself as someone to be respected, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let anything fly now, regardless of her situation. "Don't you think he'd be interested to know that you switched rooms without his permission?" Jenna tilted her head slightly as she waited for an answer. "You are, after all, working for _him_." Karly was glaring at her, and she let out a breath as she rolled her eyes to the right in thought. She finally gave in, and with another sigh she stepped back, opening the door further, and she nodded, inviting Jenna inside. Jenna couldn't help but to smirk as she stepped inside the hotel room, and as she glanced around she listened as Karly closed the door. Jenna had been busy glancing at the various items Karly had laying across her bed, but when she sensed Karly behind her, she instantly lifted the envelope up just when she felt Karly's fingers upon it. She turned around in just enough time to see Karly's face twist into a look of pure annoyance, and she rolled her eyes as she started past Jenna.

"You have to understand that while I'm willing to help out Bane," Karly started, her back to Jenna, and her eyes wandered over her long, while silk robe. "I have to protect myself. I was expecting a _call _from you people, not for Bane to send his _prisoner _here to deliver messages." She sat down on the bed and glanced over to Jenna as warm rage over-took her.

"Call me that one more damn time, and I'll see to it that Bane visits you _personally._"

"You don't possess that type of power," Karly accused with a smile, but she frowned when Jenna replied.

"You'd be surprised," Jenna retorted. "I'm not the hostage around here, but if you're not careful, the title may belong to _you_."

Where the hell was all this coming from? Jenna wondered. She stuck with her confidence and her dislike for Karly, but deep down, she had to wonder if Bane would approve of this. It wasn't that she was trying to please him, she just didn't want to get hurt any more than she already was.

Karly was glaring at her, and Jenna watched as her eyes wandered over her bruised arms. Her eyes lifted back to Jenna's, filled with cold annoyance, and she blinked before she stood up. "What do I have to do for you to keep this to yourself?"

Jenna smirked, the action only annoying Karly further. "You are as dumb as you appear," Jenna said with a grin, unable to help it. "You think you can buy me off? This isn't a game. I don't know how it works with your father, but around here, Bane isn't someone to deceit."

"You act like you actually know what's going on with his plans."

"I know more than you think," Jenna lied. The room grew silent, and a moment later Jenna stepped forward to hand Karly the envelope. "I'll be informing Bane of the new room you're staying in. It's funny how you seem to think you're calling the shots around here. You're hired help, babe... learn your place."

Without anything further to say, Jenna turned around and immediately started for the door, able to feel Karly's burning glare as she watched her leave the room. Once the door was closed behind her, Jenna couldn't help but to grin. She couldn't help but to be proud of herself with how she handled the situation with Karly. She had no reason to act that way, but Jenna couldn't help it. She was just satisfied to see that she had put someone, a professional in the crime business, in her place, especially when Jenna was new to all of this.

She was still grinning as she exited the hotel and approached the car, and once she was inside of it she immediately started the engine and slowly exited the parking lot, taking a quick moment to remind herself which ways to turn in order to get back to the warehouse. As she thought back to her and Karly's conversation during the ride back, Jenna felt more secure with herself in knowing there was _something _that she didn't like about Karly. If she was really, truly, trying to protect herself by staying in another room, wouldn't she have been more smart about that? How could she not have anticipated Bane would find out? And if she was really that frightened and paranoid, why even accept his offer in the first place? Jenna wondered. Jenna was left in the dark when it came to Bane's plans, but she couldn't help but to have a feeling that Karly might try to exploit them somehow. Jenna shook her head to herself suddenly. Why did she care? Karly was partially right when she called Jenna a hostage, but as far as Karly was concerned, Jenna was not going to give her that pleasure. But given the truth, why _did _Jenna care to wonder about Karly's place when it came to Bane. She felt her heart sink into her chest when she realized how crazy, but obvious the answer was. As her time at the warehouse went on, it was evident that Bane was becoming more than just an evil captor to her. But _why_?

To Jenna, Bane was a mystery wrapped in tempting, touchable muscles. His intentions for her had once been so clear, but what had caused him to completely change his mind? Why did he keep her around? Why was he so patient with her, and why didn't he pounce on his chance to kill her when she accidentally (or purposefully) took a tone with him? She knew he didn't allow even one mistake from any one of his crew, so why did he offer her a second chance so easily?

Jenna found that she questioned more than she knew about him. Why couldn't that giant belt he wore come off? Even more so, why couldn't that mask come off? Wasn't it uncomfortable? Did Bane himself ever wish it could come off? Why didn't he try? How did he sleep? What did his voice sound like before the mask obstructed his face?

And what the hell was that giant scar that crawled and twisted up his spine? What had happened? Where did it come from? Jenna recalled various, linear scars all over the sides of his bald head; where did those come from, as well? Jenna wondered about all of this more than she liked to admit, but she knew if she was to ask him, he would not give her a straight answer. She had asked him about where he came from and the mask at one point, but he had replied with such vague answers. All she knew was that Bane had to inject vitamins from food, rather than actually eat them. Or, was it all just a facade he put on, as part of his allure?

_No_, Jenna thought, just a few minutes away from the warehouse now. Bane wasn't like that. He didn't strike her as the type to put on a show for his own publicity. But how could anyone ever be so unique?

Maybe there would be a time when Jenna could obtain answers for all these mysteries, but for now, she knew, she shouldn't hold her breath. Bane seemed to have no desire in giving her complete answers. _But why?_

Jenna's inquiries left her feeling tired all over again as she parked the Challenger in front of the garage. She took the keys from the ignition and stepped out of the vehicle before she tossed them onto the work table. All she wanted now was to take a long, hot shower, and spend some time in her room with her phone. Granted Bane had instructed her to get rid of it, her curiosity was too strong. Who had tried to contact her? What was going on with Rodger?

It was clear that Isaac and the rest were not back from their own duties that morning, for his truck was nowhere in sight, and the warehouse appeared emptier and quieter than usual. As she headed down the stairs and toward her room for a change of clothes, she was hoping that Bane would have left as well, but due to this thought, she couldn't help but to jump when he suddenly stepped out of his room. She halted in her tracks, standing a good seven or so feet away from him, and her eyes betrayed her mind when they wandered over him. He wore his usual, dark gray cargo pants and combat boots, and this time a dark blue, v-neck shirt covered his upper half, the sleeves ending in the middle of his forearms. She swallowed as her eyes wandered over the exposed muscles there, the same feelings from the night before starting to overcome her, but she forced herself to lift her eyes back to his face when she instantly remembered what he had done to her in the morning. He was staring at her, glaring directly into her own eyes, and she wondered what he was thinking.

"Did you deliver the message?" He asked her suddenly, his voice breaking through the silence. Jenna idly nodded, wondering if she should express to him her strong doubts about Karly.

"She got really nervous when I told her I'd tell you about her room change."

"But, you already have," Bane pointed out as he crossed his arms, and he leaned against his doorway. "Why did you threaten her?"

"I don't trust her," Jenna answered, her eyes narrowing, but before she could go on, Bane was already speaking.

"You don't _trust _her, or you don't _like _her? Unless you have legitimate reasons as to _why _she is not trustworthy, I cannot stand here and listen to your petty reasons as to why she rubs you the wrong way."

"It's not like that," Jenna replied defensively. "God damn haven't I already proved that I'm not as shallow as you all think I am?"

Bane nodded his head side to side in thought. "Yes," he replied. "And no."

"That's helpful," Jenna mumbled as she started toward her room. But just as she started past him, her heart skipped a beat when she noticed him lean away from the wall and take a large step over to her before reaching out to take a hold of her arm. Jenna jumped slightly, but a feeling of annoyance instantly overcame her as she stopped in her tracks, and although she didn't want to, she allowed Bane to turn her around, his grip somewhat loose on her arm.

"Let go," she mumbled, avoiding his eyes, though she could feel the intensity from his gaze as he stared down upon her.

"You don't hold the authority to tell me that," Bane said in somewhat of an even tone of voice, and to further his point he squeezed harder on her arm, his fingers overlapping. Jenna flinched, and she tried to pull her arm away, but she knew it was useless. "Why don't you trust her?"

Jenna was frowning, and she still made a point to stubbornly keep her gaze away from him. "Don't worry about it," she retorted. This was entirely the wrong thing to say, and without hesitation Bane suddenly tightened his grip even harder on her arm, and he forced her backward toward the wall. Her arm bent at the elbow, Bane continued to clutch it as she held it against her chest, and he applied pressure on it to better hold her against the wall. Now, Jenna was forced to stare into his eyes, her mind dizzy with pain, and Bane could feel her heart racing from where his hand rested against her chest.

"You obtain so much progress, and then you backtrack so quickly with your snide comments and tones," Bane accused.

"So kill me," Jenna mumbled as she forced herself to look away, but she flinched again when Bane let out an incredibly loud laugh. Just when Jenna realized what she had said without even thinking about it first, Bane's hand was suddenly clutching her neck, and he continued to hold her against the wall as he squeezed. Jenna's eyes went wide as she brought her hands up to his wrist, and she dug her nails into his skin defensively, though she knew it was a useless attempt to free herself. Bane watched intently as she struggled to take in air, her lips parted, her eyes somehow getting wider and wider as she stared at him.

"But you don't _want _to die," Bane reminded her slowly. "Remember? You allowed permission of your _family's _death over your own. Are you prepared for all of that to have been for _nothing_?" He growled. Due to her mangled mind, Jenna stupidly tried to speak, but only a mess of faint gurgles and gasping escaped from her closed throat. Her vision started to blur and darken out around the edges, and Bane kept his eyes fixed on her intently as her hold on his wrist loosened severely. "If I squeeze any harder... your life will end in a mere matter of seconds. Is that really what you want?"

Jenna tried to shake her head, but when this proved useless and painful she parted her lips wider an an effort to speak her answer. Bane loosened his hold slightly to allow her frail answer to fill the area of the basement. "..._no._"

Bane loosened his grip even more. "Then perhaps you shouldn't say things you don't mean." He finally let go of her neck completely, and he watched as Jenna's hand flew to her throat as she finally sucked in giant spurts of air, her chest heaving up and down. Bane touched his fingers to her jaw after a short minute of watching her, and he tightened his grip slightly as he brought her head back up, forcing her to look at him as she continued to breathe heavily. "You must learn to control your anger," he advised. "Or else the things you say in the heat of your anger may lead to their reality."

His glare was burning as Jenna stared into his eyes, and although she wanted to push away his hand from her face, she knew her actions would not result well. So instead, she struggled to turn her head away from him, but Bane tightened his grip slightly as he forced her to look at him again. He could easily make out the pain and hot anger in her eyes, and she watched as his eyes suddenly and slowly roamed down her body. He stared at the bruises on her arms for a minute before his dark gray eyes traveled back up slowly. "Are you still upset with me?" He asked.

Jenna knew he was referring to that morning, and more anger and embarrassment filled her heart as she was forced to remember how she had felt upon waking up. "Wouldn't you be if someone did that to you?" She retorted, her eyes wandering away from his.

"Someone could certainly try," Bane mused. "But they would fail severely."

"Lucky you," Jenna mumbled. She knew she was testing Bane's patience –all she wanted to do was grab a shower and be alone– but either surprisingly or predictably, she wasn't sure which, Bane remained just as patient with her as always.

"Did you think I'd just let you sleep... in my bed?" He wondered.

"No," Jenna replied quickly, still not looking at him. "But you could have at least brought me to my own room-"

"Ah, yes!" Bane spoke loudly, causing Jenna to jump in slight surprise. "I could have carried your slumbering body to your own room, where I could have then proceeded to tuck you into your bed and leave you to sleep soundly and warmly. Maybe I could have even woken up a few times in the middle of the night to check on you, just to make sure you were alive and fine."

Jenna felt like dying right now, if she was being perfectly honest with herself. She hadn't expected Bane to bring up that night, and she most certainly did not want to talk about it. She knew he was mocking her, and trying to make her realize how ridiculous her expectations had been. She should know better, he thought, and while Jenna knew this too, some naive part of her hadn't actually expected Bane to be so careless.

"If you regret it so much now, then why didn't you stop yourself last night?" Jenna wondered truthfully. She listened to Bane's eerie breathing as he continued to stare at her.

"I never said I regretted it," Bane answered. "In fact I... rather enjoyed it. But for you to think it could... actually _mean _something... then perhaps I haven't been making myself very clear with you."

Jenna felt her face flush a hot shade of red due to Bane's confession, and she could feel herself disintegrating away into crumbs at Bane's feet. "I never meant to suggest that I thought it _meant _something," Jenna forced herself to say, and she couldn't help but to feel as though she was digging herself a bigger hole.

"Well good," Bane interrupted, but he paused immediately after he had spoke once Jenna started to finish her thought.

"But to just _leave _me outside of your damn door to be – be ridiculed?"

"Ridiculed?" Bane repeated. "I didn't know anyone to be ridiculing you today."

Why had she even said that? As far as she knew, no one had even seen her. But when she ventured upstairs that morning, she had been expecting somebody to say something. It was evident to her that Bane knew nobody had said anything to her, and she sucked in her lips as she shook her head.

"I thought so," Bane said, her expression clarifying that she had spoken without thinking again. "I told you leave my room last night and like I said, when I saw that you hadn't I took matters into my own hands. I didn't _bring _you to your room because I simply did not care. The issue is done and over with; there's no way to change it and there is no use talking about it or holding a grudge. Have I made myself clear or should I write it down for you?"

_Unbelievable_, Jenna thought sourly to herself. She tried to move away from him again, but Bane didn't allow this, and he watched her sink into her frustration upon being talked down to like a stupid child.

"Yes, you've made yourself clear, _Sir_," Jenna shot back sarcastically as she finally lifted her eyes to look at him. "Do I have your permission to go shower now?"

Bane grinned slightly. "You always have my permission," he replied evenly. He held her face for a moment longer, staring directly into her eyes as she glared back into his, and finally with a small, quiet chuckle, he let go, letting his fingers slide slowly from her soft skin, and Jenna sucked in a sharp breath as her heart skipped a beat. Without another word Bane started away from her, heading back into his room, and Jenna headed over to her room, struggling to ignore the lightheaded feeling that had overcome her.

–

After a long, much needed and soothing shower, and after Jenna had spent more than enough time washing her hair and shaving, she wrapped herself up in a towel and stepped out onto the old tiled floor. She headed over to the mirror, and after she used her hand to wipe away the steam, she stared at her reflection, her eyes wandering down her dark, wet and wavy black hair, and her plump, pink lips, until finally she stared into her own eyes. To her, her eyes held frustration and slight misery, but despite this and her aching body, the odd, healthy glow of her skin and overall appearance was unmissable. This made her frown deeper, and with a sigh and defeated shake of her head, she finally proceeded with drying off her body before getting dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing that day, with a fresh pair of underwear, of course.

After she had towel dried her hair to the point of water droplets ceasing to drip from the tips of her hair, she balled up her towel and dirty clothes and ventured downstairs. Bane's door was closed, and she knew that if she was to check her phone, now would more than likely be the opportune time.

Without missing a beat, she jogged to her room, immediately closing the door after, and she dropped the towel on the ground before she dragged over her purse as she sat down at the edge of the bed. She glanced up to the door as she reached inside, and once her fingers touched her cold phone, she pulled out it, kicked her purse away from her, and instantly laid down in the bed. She covered herself with the blanket before turning onto her side to face the door, and just in case she threw the blanket over her head, just to ensure she was completely out of site. As she waited for the phone to turn on, she brought her legs up, bending them at the knees, and she openly shivered as she stared at the screen. What seemed like long moments later, her phone had finally loaded, and she waited in silence for it to start vibrating with missed calls and texts.

But just when she gave in to her disappointment of realizing nobody had tried to contact her, her phone became alive with buzzing, notifications of missed calls and texts popping up onto the screen, and she watched the numbers increase as she waited for the phone to stop vibrating: _five, six... ten... fifteen... sixteen..._

Sixteen unread text messages, and ten missed calls. She bit her lip, deciding which to look at first as her heart began to race, and she decide to check the missed calls. The first seven missed calls had all been from Rodger, and upon scrolling down Jenna discovered that only three of them had been made by her parents the night Bane had taken her. Deep down she had been expecting this, but she couldn't help the sickening pang that went through her heart. She tried to ignore this, however, as she exited the screen to check out her text messages...

All of them were Rodger. Most were short, and some were long. The first few at the bottom of the screen started off casual enough, one thanking her again for her help with finding his snake, another inviting her out to party, and the one after asking why she wasn't answering her phone. From there, they became more frantic, and Jenna could hear Rodger's worried voice through the words he typed.

_"Not sure what's going on... but I haven't heard from you all day. Call me."_

_ "Still haven't heard from you, and your phone is still off. Is everything ok? Call me."_

_ "I'm sure I'm getting worried for no reason, but we haven't talked in a few days and your phone is still off. Did it break? Did your parents take it? I guess if those are the cases then you won't be able to answer my questions... well, as soon as you see this, CALL ME."_

_ "Hey? You there?"_

_ "Hello?"_

_ "Okay, it's been days, and even my parents are getting worried. We can't get a hold of your folks, and when we went there it looked like no one was home; no one answered the doors or anything. Please Jenna, I'm really getting worried. Call me, text me... let me know you're ok."_

_ "I saw the news cast just now, about the break in at your fathers dealership? Some underground weapons warehouse or something? And that lady saying she recognized you? I know now this isn't doing any good, but I'm hoping that you're ok, and I hope that you can contact me soon."_

_ "Did you get this?"_

_ "Hello?"_

_ "Jenna?"_

And then they stopped. Jenna didn't realize how hard she was biting her lip until it suddenly became painful, and with a slight flinch she quickly released it. She stared at Rodger's last message, and another hurt pang went through her heart when she realized that last message had only been sent just last night. Frowning, she exited the text messages screen, unsure if checking her phone had been a good idea or not. Perhaps she should have just done what Bane had asked, and disposed of it, and left herself to never know how worried she had made her friend. She touched her thumb to the 'off' button, but just before she was about to press it, the phone vibrated again, startling her, and a shock ran up her spine when she saw Rodger was calling, right now. Her eyes widened as she held the vibrating phone in her hand, staring at the little icon picture of Rodger as it rang, and she could only imagine the terribly strong, false hope she was filling him with as the phone finally rang on the other end, sending the message to Rodger that it was finally turned on.

But when the phone went to voice-mail, Jenna closed her eyes, able to feel the immense confusion and hurt that Rodger was more than likely feeling at that moment as well. She waited a moment longer, seeing if he would leave a voice-mail, and she opened her eyes after the phone had vibrated again once more. But she saw that instead he had sent a text message. Without delay she immediately pressed 'view'.

_"Hey, you there?"_

Jenna stared at his words, wishing that she could reply, when the phone buzzed loudly again.

_"You're phone is on finally, are you getting my messages?" _

Jenna waited.

_"God Jenna please answer! I'm so fucking worried. You've been declared missing, you could be dead for all I know. I haven't been sleeping at all. Just please reply and tell me you're alive and ok? Please." _

Jenna bit her lip again as she hit the button to reply. She desperately wanted to reply to him, to let him know she was alive, but she knew it would be her death wish if or _when_ Bane found out. But regardless, she found herself typing out a message anyway, not entirely thinking it through.

_"Rodger I'm alive... though maybe not ok. I wish I could tell you where I am and who I'm with, but I can't. I'm in deep enough trouble as it is. My parents are dead, and I don't know much of what else is going on. But I'm alive, and I'll try to contact you as soon as I –"_

The phone vibrated again, snapping her out of her daze, and when she re-read what she had just typed she shook her head to herself as she quickly exited the entire screen, not saving the message. Like hell she could ever send him that. Drowning in her own, self-induced misery, she read the new message Rodger had sent.

_"Just tell me you're ok. Just send me two words. I NEED to know." _

Jenna bit her lip again as she pressed the button to reply, and before she could stop herself, the message had been sent. _"I'm ok." _

She felt like crying as she finally forced herself to turn her phone off, and she closed her eyes tight as she waited, wishing she had never bothered to read the messages. Now, a few found nervousness had filled her entire mind and body due to her actions, and she had a terrible sinking feeling that things were going to get a lot worse if Bane found out.

But how could he? Jenna hadn't given Rodger any information, and she knew there was no way he could track her down by her phone or text, especially when her phone was turned off. Perhaps, just letting him know she was okay would be enough for now, and Jenna wouldn't have to keep her phone, like Bane had said. The thought made her feel a little better, but a more obsessive and stubborn part of her was not willing to give up her phone that easily. Bane had taken everything from her. Jenna felt firm in the fact that he was not going to take away communication from her best friend as well.

Footsteps echoing down the stairs and a door opening startled Jenna suddenly, and she gasped quickly as she immediately stuck her phone under her pillow and popped out from under the blankets. Staring at the wall and breathing in deeply the cool air, she listened as heavier footsteps –Bane's– proceed toward the stairs before somebody started to talk quietly. She waited, chest heaving up and down, for Bane or somebody to enter her room when the talking was done and footsteps were heard again, but nobody approached her door, and when she heard Bane's own door close again, she finally let out a sigh.

She would keep her phone, and she would keep in shallow contact with Rodger. She would not give him any vital information, no matter how big or small, for she was not about be the cause of her own death due to some stupid mistake and desperate attempt to keep in communication with her best friend. All she wanted was some sort of peace of mind in her hellish state of life, and she knew that contact with Rodger would more than likely help.

–

The day passed quickly. Jenna remained in her room for most it, struggling to keep herself from checking her phone, and when she went outside for a cigarette she took more time to smoke it than necessary, just so she could avoid her phone checking urges. The more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder if keeping her phone was a bad idea after all, but after figuring that hiding it securely under her pillow –Bane never touched her cot anyway– was a fine idea, she decided to stick to her plan.

Around seven o' clock, Jenna couldn't take the rumbling in her stomach any longer. Starvation was starting to get the best of her, so without a second thought she ventured out of her room, purse hung on her shoulder, and immediately started to the stairs, not even realizing that Bane had been stepping out of his room as well.

"Where are you going?" He asked her slowly as he watched her start up the stairs.

"To go get food, is that _fine _with you?" Jenna retorted back. But she allowed him no time to answer, and despite the nervous feeling that had crept up on her due to her tone, she continued up the stairs toward the exit door. She expected Bane to chase after her, grab her by the hair and drag her down the stairs before stomping on her face with his boot to remind her never to speak to him in such a tone, but he never moved. Instead, he stood by his door, watching her climb the stairs until she threw open the door to head outside. The fact that Bane had never come after her shocked Jenna, but she ignored the feeling and started toward the garage under the dark sky, realizing that Isaac and the rest were back now.

Isaac was in the garage, but Jenna ignored him as she approached the work bench. Isaac had stopped what he was doing, and he watched Jenna closely and she headed toward him and the work bench, but right when Jenna figured she could smoothly ignore him, he reached out to her grab her wrist just when she touched her fingers to the keys. Grunting, she clutched the keys tightly in her hand as she struggled to pull her arm back, but Isaac proved too strong as he held it in place, his blue eyes fixed on hers through the dim light.

"Where are you going?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. Bane had asked her that exact question mere seconds ago. "To the diner," she answered. "Let go."

"Do you have Bane's permission?"

"Jesus, can't anyone do anything around here _without _his permission? You're all like, sheep or something," Jenna mumbled as she tried to free her wrist again. Isaac squeezed on it tighter.

"Funny you should mention free-will," he replied. "Do you have his permission to leave by yourself, or not?"

"Yes, I have his _permission_," Jenna hissed. She figured that Bane's silence and lack of desire to follow her as his permission to let her leave, and after she glared into his eyes a moment longer, he finally let go of her wrist, throwing her arm away from him. Jenna disliked the immense anger she felt toward who she thought had been her only friend in all this, but Isaac had been treating her terribly lately, and she wasn't entirely sure what had changed. He stared at her with a look that could only be described as disgust for another moment longer before he finally turned around to march further into the shadows of the warehouse. Jenna started to move toward the car, and she couldn't help but to slump her shoulders when she heard Isaac's voice address her again.

"Where's my coat?" He asked her.

"In my room," she replied quickly. Trying to swallow back her frustration, Jenna unlocked the car and got in, deciding she was through with speaking to him, and once the car was started, she immediately cranked the heat, backed up slowly, and prayed that she'd able to find her way back to the diner her and Isaac had gone to what seemed like ages ago.

Jenna was beginning to scare herself with how quickly she was starting to learn her way around the area, and the car in which she drove. She hadn't even been entirely trying to remember how to get to the diner, her mind was focused on other things, but all she knew was that it was down in street and impossible to miss, for it was the only building located in the middle of nowhere. Before she knew it, she was parking the car at the side of the building, and with a rumbling stomach she stepped out of the car and hustled through the cold to step into the warm building.

The same 'Please Seat Yourself' sign was placed in the front, and without thinking she found herself wandering toward the very back of the building and sitting at the same table her and Isaac had. As she sat and pulled over a menu, a shiver ran through her, and she shook openly for a second before she glanced out to the rest of the diner, her eyes falling on a young waitress re-filling somebody's cup of coffee, and once she was finished Jenna turned back to the menu, trying to distract her running thoughts with deciding if she wanted pancakes again, or if she wanted to try something else.

Back at the warehouse, Isaac had made his way inside through the garage, and he walked silently through the building as he approached the stairs. The basement was empty, everybody else either outside at the old truck loading docks or upstairs, watching TV and playing pool. Isaac noticed Bane's door was open, and upon approaching his room he saw that Bane was inside it, sitting at his desk. Isaac knocked on the frame of the door, and he waited for Bane to turn around.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Jenna left to the diner," Isaac informed. "I was just checking that she had your permission to do so."

Bane turned around, but he grinned at Barsad's loyalty. "Yes," Bane finally answered. "She had my permission. In not so many words, but... it was granted."

Isaac's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at his boss, not entirely sure what he meant, but as long as Jenna had gotten his permission to leave, then he knew that was that. "Alright," Isaac finally said, and without another word he backed away from the door and immediately started toward Jenna's room. Pushing open the door, his eyes instantly fell on the various articles of clothing scattered about on the cold, concrete floor, and upon deeper inspection as he stepped further into the room, he noticed the majority of them to have been ripped apart. He stared at a ripped shirt for a moment, his mind instantly focusing back to what Jenna had been trying to tell him, and with a disgusted frown he shook his head and turned around, his eyes searching for the coat he had lent Jenna. He turned around again, facing away from the door, and he stepped up to the cot. He pulled back the blanket before throwing it back over the pillow, the pillow falling onto the floor due to the force, but this was no concern to him. His eyes had found the blanket that had been covering Jenna that morning when he had found her sleeping on the floor. He shook his head again as he reached out to pick up the thin blanket, recognizing it to be from Bane's room, and he tossed it behind him on the floor.

The coat still no where in site, he grew terribly annoyed as he bent down at the side of the cot. He kicked away her bag of clothes with his foot before placing his hand on the side bar of the cot, and he pushed it toward the wall to get a better look to see what was under it. Low and behold, he found his coat, but he rolled his eyes when he saw that it had been laying under a damp towel for God knows how long.

"Nice..." he mumbled to himself as he reached out to pick it up, disregarding the towel, and as he stood up he pushed the cot even further toward the wall. With a small grumble he turned to start toward the door, and after he shut off the light he pulled closed the door behind him.

From within his room and where he sat at his desk, Bane listened to Isaac start away from Jenna's room and head toward the stairs. As he ascended them, Bane wondered what he had gone into Jenna's room for, but just when he considered standing to go see, he realized that he didn't entirely care enough to do so. He knew that Isaac had to have known about what he and Jenna had done the night before. It was evident that Isaac had seen her that morning, for he had checked in with Bane for his tasks to be assigned, and now that he was in Jenna's room, his eyes had laid upon further evidence. But it wasn't that Bane cared that his right-hand man had seen; Barsad was not the type of man to gossip to the rest of the crew, but even if he was, Bane didn't care what his team thought. He was in charge, and his men knew that if they were to step out of line once, even if it was to just simply mock him, their life would end in a matter of a few seconds. But would Bane really kill them just because of that? _No_, Bane answered to himself. Maybe out of annoyance, but not because of them poking fun. If he were being truthful, he probably deserved it. He had had sex with his _hostage_... how exactly had that happened again?

He had admitted that he had enjoyed it to Jenna, and now, as he sat and reflected on that conversation, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. It had slipped past his mouth so naturally, and he had seen how she had reacted. Her eyes had brightened, her face had reddened, and her lips parted as she glanced at him, her expression clearly telling him that it was something she had been worried about. Bane had wanted to put a stop to their desires since the very beginning. After all of the failures, he had figured that finally allowing their bodies to be relieved of their cravings would do the trick, but now he feared that in doing so he had only caused a bigger fire.

He wanted to do it again. He'd be lying if he denied it. But he didn't like the fact that he wanted to. Jenna had left him craving her again, and this was starting to drive him up the wall. There was just something about the way that Jenna thought she could stand up to him that not only amused him, but even aroused him. Beneath her spoiled surface was a woman who demanded respect, and would do just about anything to get it. It was clear that she had once been someone amongst her like-minded friends who had loads of respect, but once Bane had taken her, that layer submerged itself under a bratty exterior. She wouldn't admit then, or even now, but she had been scared. But now that was fading away, and Bane knew that was exactly why she was starting to take to such a nasty tone with him. But it amused him. Her tones were annoying, but they were not what made him angry. He was happy to see Jenna standing up for herself, for she was definitely the type of person who would not take any shit from anyone. But what Bane didn't like was how Jenna was beginning to think she could rise above him. Bane would allow her to emit all the confidence in the world. He would allow her to go do what she wanted so long as she was smart about it, and he would allow her to just act her complete self around him, in fact, he wanted her to. But he would _not_ tolerate Jenna acting like she was not under his complete and total command.

Although sex with her had been exciting, it had also been a terrible mistake, Bane realized now. He expected Jenna to understand she was his pet, and under his complete command... but sex, an _equal _act between two people, was sending her the completely wrong message. Although Bane had dominated the pain aspects, Jenna had dominated other aspects, and had inflicted torture on him that he never knew existed. This made her feel power over him, and he feared that she would use it to her advantage again.

What was terrible, however, was that deep, deep down, Bane _wanted _her to. She had been emitting confidence, and that was sexy. But with further thought, Bane discovered he was thinking in circles. He wanted Jenna to understand she was just a pawn under his control, yet at the same time he _wanted _her to rise above that? The fuck was wrong with him?

Bane grumbled to himself as he pushed his chair away from the desk, and he slowly stood up. He was still firm on believing that killing Jenna would be a mistake, but now it was for all the wrong reasons. He stepped over to his bed, reaching down to grab the bottom of his shirt, and with one, swift motion he lifted it from his body and over his head. He removed his arms from the sleeves and tossed it on the bed before he turned to start pacing around his room, the sound of his breathing filling the room. He was unsure of how to achieve what he wanted, especially when he was unsure of what exactly it was that he wanted from Jenna. He decided that all he could do was let the cards fall where they may, but in the process of doing so, he would ensure that Jenna understood her realities. Bane was in charge of her, and she would have to learn to start respecting that. One must give respect in order to earn it...

Somehow, it had managed to drop a good ten degrees during the hour Jenna had spent inside the diner. She wanted to feel as though she had taken her time enjoying a nice, big and hot plate of pancakes, but she had spent the vast majority of the time just thinking about Bane. Now, as she closed her car door, she felt exhausted as she openly shivered. She placed down a Styrofoam box onto the passenger seat, and she stared at it for a moment, hoping that Isaac would appreciate the fact that Jenna had generously thought to order him a burger. She remembered what he had gotten last time, and before she had decided to leave she ordered the burger and waited for it to be done, and she easily ignored the waitress' annoyed sighs when Jenna requested a box to take the fresh food home in.

"This isn't a take-out restaurant," the waitress had mumbled as she turned to go get the box, but Jenna ignored her with a roll of her eyes as she leaned back to wait. Now, Jenna focused on driving through the dark to get back to the warehouse, and she couldn't help but to worry about her encounter with Isaac. He had been filled with so much frustration with her lately, and Jenna had _no _clue where that was coming from. Depending on how he acted when she bestowed him the food, she decided that she would ask him what was going on, once and for all.

As luck would have it, Isaac was alone outside, enjoying a cigarette near the closed doors of the garage. Jenna knew his eyes to be on her as she pulled up to the warehouse to park the car, and he cocked an eyebrow when he watched her pick up the food box. She pushed open the door and stepped out, her keys jingling as she openly shivered, and she started around the car,

"Hey," Jenna spoke through clenched teeth, and Isaac couldn't help but to grin and shake his head when he laid eyes on her bare and goose-bump covered arms. Jenna ignored his actions and proceeded to approach him. "I got you this," she said, trying to speak in a pleasant tone, and she waited for Isaac to look back at her. "It's a burger," she went on awkwardly. Isaac idly blew out the smoke, ignoring the fact that it congregated right in Jenna's face.

"Thanks," he said, turning his head away, and as soon as he had a raging fire instantly sparked to life in Jenna's stomach. Her brow furrowed as she narrowed her eyes on him, but she tried to keep it contained as she continued to hold the box out to him.

"Don't you want it...?"

"Just set it down on the car," Isaac replied. "I'm not hungry."

Jenna bit her lip as she tried to hold herself back from screaming at him. "What the hell is your problem?" She asked as she fixed her purse on her shoulder, finally lowering the box, and she glared at the profile of his face as he took another drag. Isaac let out a low chuckle as he shook his head, exhaling the smoke.

"Don't worry about it."

"I will worry about it," Jenna replied as she took a step closer to him, the fire inside her warming her body. "You were so nice to me at first, and suddenly over night you're treating me like shit."

"Not shit," Isaac disagreed. "I'm treating you how you should be treated. Like a hostage. And a brat."

Jenna's mouth parted, her jaw practically touching the cold pavement beneath her feet. "Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked finally after a long moment. "What happened to me being brave, tough and fearless? What happened to you helping me?"

Isaac carelessly shrugged. "That's not important."

"You can't offer me a friendship and then suddenly turn your back on me," Jenna demanded, ready to continue, but she stopped short when Isaac suddenly faced her, his tired eyes wide and blazing.

"Listen to yourself! This isn't kindergarten! I was interested in helping you, but it's useless. It's all an act you put on so you can save yourself from death."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jenna asked as she lowered the box even more, feeling the burger more than likely fall apart from within the box. "The fuck did I do?"

"You know what you did," Isaac replied. "And it's sick. War is coming; we all need to prepare and carry out Bane's plans to perfection. But you? You're just a distraction, a roadblock. It's Bane's decisions and his orders, but I think you're nothing but a mistake, here to hold us back."

"Again, Isaac, what the hell did I do-"

"You fucked him," He finally replied, turning his body entirely toward her now, his cigarette nearly finished as he held it between his fingers. A pang went through Jenna's heart as her lips parted again, and a lump had risen in her throat. She was unsure which emotion to feel in dominance, for she felt a mix of confusion, rage, and embarrassment. "What was the point of that?" Isaac went on now, unable to stop himself from speaking without entirely thinking through what he was saying. Normally a logical and controlled man, Isaac couldn't help himself currently. "Important tasks are about to go down, and you're holding him back from-"

"You make it sound like it's not a group effort, Isaac," Jenna interrupted sternly as she glanced down slightly, his gaze too intense. "He was just as much a part of it as I was."

"I don't buy it," Isaac replied, although an interesting pang went through his own heart due to his words. "I have things to do," he finally concluded as he threw his cigarette onto the ground. "If you're not going to severely help out with anything, then just stay out of my way. I have a job to do."

The fire was out of control now. "Fuck you," Jenna finally said. "I mean that, Isaac. _Go fuck yourself_."

Jenna threw the food box at him, the box colliding with his legs, the burger falling onto the ground, and without another word Jenna turned to storm over toward the exit doors.

"Real mature!" Isaac called back, suddenly aware that yelling that to her only questioned his own maturity. There was more he wanted to say, but he swallowed back his words as he waved his hand at her instead, and he turned around, trying to ignore the ketchup that had gotten onto his pants.

Jenna felt like breaking something as she threw open the door. Her hands her shaking, both from the freezing temperature and anger toward Isaac. Was that really his problem? The fact that she _and _Bane had _both _shared a passionate moment? She was not distracting anybody, especially Bane, given that he had been just as much a part of that as she was, just like she had stated to Isaac. He had been so calm and collected before, rational... how had this suddenly changed everything?

_What fucking ever_, Jenna thought sourly to herself as she stomped down the stairs. She was over it. She was over everything. She was over Isaac, and she was over Bane. She was over the warehouse, she was over trying to impress anybody, and she was over trying to better herself.

Bane's door was open, but she ignored this as she continued on to her room. She barged through the door and snapped on the light, only to freeze suddenly, a cold shock running through her. Her bag of clothes had been spilled on to the floor, her cot pushed back against the wall with the blankets a mess, and her pillow was laying on the floor, stuck under the legs of the cot. Her lips parted as she stared wide-eyed at the pillow, and all she could picture was Bane discovering her cell phone. She broke through the ice that had covered her body and cautiously started over toward the cot, her purse sliding from her shoulder, and she swallowed as she reached out toward the blankets on the bed. She pulled them back slowly, and an intense, warm relieved feeling spread through her quickly when she saw her cell phone was still laying on the cot. Her heart continued to race, however, and she bent down slightly to pull the cot away from the wall. As soon as she picked up her pillow, however, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps behind her, and she jumped when she heard her door squeak. Without thinking she immediately turned around, startled when she saw Bane stepping into her room, and she quickly turned around to place her pillow down on top of the phone. Her body shivered, and she wondered if Bane had seen the phone after all. Who had been in her room anyway, and why had they caused such a mess? Bane's eerie breathing feeling the room, and as he stepped further into the room Jenna couldn't abandon the feeling of knowing she was about to be in deep trouble...

"How was dinner?" Bane asked casually, confusing Jenna slightly. She tried to keep herself composed, however, as she turned around, but she knew it was evident to Bane that something was up due to the way she sat ridiculously close to the pillow she had just placed down and the way she avoided his eyes.

"Fine," Jenna finally answered as she busied herself with removing her boots, trying to keep her shaking and shivering under control. Bane cocked an eyebrow as he watched her.

"What did you eat?" He went on to ask. It was evident to him that something was up with Jenna. She was avoiding his eyes more than usual, and her overall demeanor told him that something was making her ridiculously nervous.

Jenna swallowed, positive Bane's casualness was building up to an intense scolding. "Pancakes," she answered in a small voice. Above her, Bane nodded slowly.

"Pancakes," he repeated. "I've never had pancakes," he said suddenly, and this caused Jenna to slowly lift her head to look at him nervously, and Bane noticed this. "I imagine they would taste somewhat sweet, based on the scent they emit. Am I correct?"

Jenna slowly nodded, her heart starting to race faster. She held his eye contact for a moment, but right when she was about to glance away and finally remove her boots, Bane spoke up.

"You appear to be very... uneasy. Is something on your mind?"

Jenna swallowed. "No," she replied.

Bane continued to stare at her. "I don't believe you," he said. "You left here incredibly angry, and now you return appearing... guilty. What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," Jenna finally replied. "Um... who was in my room?"

"Why?"

"When I came back it was all... messy. Who was in here?"

"Barsad," Bane returned. "Although I don't know why."

Finally, Jenna remembered that Isaac had been wearing the coat she had borrowed. Clearly, he had come in here to look for it. But was making a mess really necessary? It was at the tip of her tongue to clarify that Bane had not been in here as well, but she knew asking that question would give her away entirely.

"He was just getting his coat that he let me borrow," Jenna said finally. "I remember now."

Bane kept his eyes focused on her, and he noticed her swallow again as he took a large step forward to stand directly above her. Jenna was staring at his knees, but this wasn't doing him justice at the moment. He reached out to take a somewhat firm hold of her jaw, and he forced her head up. Jenna's eyes found his, and she struggled to hold his gaze as he kept his fingers locked on her jaw.

"You're not... _hiding _something from me... because I know you know better than that, don't you, Jenna?"

Jenna tried to nod her head, but when this failed she was forced to speak, and she licked her lips before doing so. "Yes," she answered in a small voice. All the possible things she could be keeping from him ran though his mind, and he thought it to be ridiculous that the most obvious thing was the last to make itself known.

"You _did _dispose of your phone, correct?"

_Oh my God... _Jenna thought nervously to herself. What did she do now? "Yes," she spoke before she could think it through, and she found herself instantly regretting this. She anticipated for Bane to suddenly push her out of the way, search through her belongings and ultimately discover her phone, but instead he continued to stand in front of her, his fingers still clenching her jaw. She watched as his eyes rolled down and to the right, and once he noticed her purse on her floor, he let go of her jaw, pushing on her face as he turned around, and Jenna watched as he picked up her purse. He turned and stepped forward to her again, and he lingered over her sitting frame as he let the purse plop down onto her lap.

"Prove it," he said. Jenna stared up at him a moment longer before she finally glanced down to reach inside, and she started to pull out the contents of her purse. Bane watched her lay out the items next to her on the foot of the cot, and once the purse was empty, he nodded his head slightly when Jenna glanced up at him.

"Where did you put it?" He asked now.

Jenna's body started to shake again, and she wished that he would just go away. "A dumpster," she finally said, suddenly unsure if there were dumpsters around the building or not. "At the diner," she added quickly, thinking this was a good lie, but when Bane cocked an eyebrow she instantly took it back.

"Tonight?" He watched as Jenna nodded. "What took you so long to do it? Why not throw it away _here_?"

Jenna shrugged, entirely unsure of how to answer that, especially when her phone was still hiding under her pillow, not even five feet away from him.

"I forgot," she finally said.

"You didn't _contact _anyone with it tonight, did you?"

"Like who?" Jenna tried to distract him from the question. "My parents are... dead."

"Perhaps your dear friend, Rodger?" Bane asked, and a shock ran up her spine. _Fuck, fuck, fuck... _

Jenna struggled to keep her composure as she shook her head. "The phone was off and I threw it away."

"That's not how I meant for you to get rid of it. Someone could find it, and take it," Bane went on. "And when they turned it on, they would discover a lack of missed calls and messages, because of the fact that you _did_ send a quick message to your friend. Or, am I incorrect?"

It was like he knew exactly what she had done! What did she do now? Was he able to see through her lie, or should Jenna continue at it? Her mind made a decision before she could agree. "No," Jenna finally said. "They wouldn't discover that. I did what you asked. I didn't think just throwing it away would be a big deal."

Bane stared at her for another silent moment. "Good," he finally said. "It would be a terrible shame to discover that you _lied _to me. But you're smarter than that," he stated as if this were a truth. "Right, Jenna?"

She hated when he said her name like that. She nodded as she finally glanced away from him. "Yes," she replied.

"Alright then," Bane said. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

Jenna nodded, unable to recall a more awkward moment between them. A long moment later, Bane finally turned around and exit her room, and once he closed the door, Jenna finally released the large breath she had been holding. With shaking hands she replaced the items in her purse, and as she set it onto the ground, she was positive Bane did not buy her lie.

She finished removing her boots, and once this was done she changed into something more comfortable to sleep in, feeling even more exhausted suddenly. She was sure that she would be unable to sleep that night, however. Too many things were going on and distracting her from even the simplest of tasks. She was dreading tomorrow, but she figured she should try and enjoy the time she had before it approached. Even if that meant a restless, sleepless night.

* * *

**Last week of school, and then its Christmas break time (sadly, the last one I'll ever have, haha). So that means LOTS of chapter updates!**

Leave me some lovins! And if you haven't already, add me on Facebook! Lacey ClownQween Michele


	12. Broken

**Merry Christmas! Today was a wonderful day, and I'm happy to have been able to finish this chapter! **

**PLEASE NOTE, however, that this chapter contains some very mature content (we all know what that means) proceed with caution, or, if you're not at all bothered by this, then ignore this message and enjoy!**

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It had been a sleepless night for Isaac. Bitter memories of the discussion he had had with Jenna the night before had haunted him the entire night, and caused him to question the entirety of it. He laid awake in his bed in his own room, staring through the darkness with heavy, tired eyes as he tried to access how he really felt. Normally a man of rational thinking, Isaac had figured this would be simple, but it was just the opposite.

Rationally, what was there to be mad at? He wasn't in charge here; he not only understood this, but he accepted it completely, so why even _care _what Bane did when he wasn't amongst his men, giving orders? What the hell had he always been doing anyway?

Was it pathetic to put the entirety of the blame on Jenna? After all, how much control did she have around here anyway, and over him? _None_, Isaac had answered as he turned around in his bed to face the wall, desperate to fall asleep. But sleep ever came. Instead, a wave of further thoughts drifted him away from any attempt at slumber, and this only aggravated him further.

Jenna was a hostage. More-so, Jenna was _Bane's _hostage. He could do whatever the hell he wanted to her, plus more. So what if she was still alive and not going through some sort of real, physical torture everyday, like Isaac had been expecting. What difference did it make to him? Thing is, Isaac knew, there was something about Jenna that he had instantly liked himself. He knew that deep down she was so unlike her upbringing, unlike her parents, unlike everyone else in Gotham. Isaac had meant it when he told her she carried potential. But for Jenna to have _slept _with Bane? Had she been willing or had Bane forced it? Was Bane even like that? What had Isaac so upset was the fact that a new war starting; _Bane _and his crew had to be in a full out, tactical mode now, for plans were happening! How could Bane ever allow such a _distraction_?

This is what Isaac didn't like, as well not knowing the entirety of the story. Could he trust Jenna's word? How he could ever ask Bane? _I can't_, he thought. Did he even want to know the story? The further he accessed his thoughts, the more he realized his sudden hatred was not due to rational thoughts, but some sort of sick feeling from the heart. Feelings of this sort had been abandoned long ago when he had joined Bane's crew, where he was able to establish himself as a rational, logical man who was not to be crossed or questioned. _Fine_, he thought as he turned around in his bed again, predicting the time to have been around almost four in the morning. So why even have these emotions in the first place?

It all came back to the fact that he liked Jenna. He realized now that he had completely abandoned his normal demeanor when Jenna had arrived; he had been so keen on helping her, directly off the bat. He offered her cigarettes, her offered her his coat, he offered her advice and above all, he had started to offer her a friendship. Isaac groaned to himself as he rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, able to hear the TV on just outside his door. He had told her that eventually he would recite his own story to her, just because she had asked. Isaac closed his eyes and sighed. Why, _why _had he done that? He didn't want to tell anybody that story, let alone think about it.

So what did it come down to? Rationally, he liked Jenna. Logically, she hadn't done anything more wrong than Bane had... in fact, had she done anything wrong at all? After all, she was the one who had no control, whatsoever. Shouldn't he be angry at Bane, if anyone? But on that note, why even be mad in the first place? All his anger was coming from senseless emotions that he knew would break away once he defeated them with logic. If only it was so easy though...

In his head, he had his answer, but on a deeper level he couldn't help but to still be bothered. Finally, a little after five, Isaac couldn't take laying in bed anymore. He threw the covers off of him and instantly got out of bed before moving over to the light switch. He flicked it on, illuminating his weapon and gun filled room, the objects taking up space everywhere. He moved past the row of larger machine guns and sniper rifles back to his bed, where he proceeded with dressing in a pair of gray cargo pants and a long sleeved, black shirt.

He maneuvered down the ladder that led up to his room quietly before proceeding toward the exit door, and he couldn't help but to glance down the basement stairs before he unlocked the door and pulled it open. The air was bitingly cold, and upon glancing up at the sky, he saw the sun was rising behind a thick fog of gray clouds, and he wondered idly if it might actually start to snow early in the year. Ignoring the cold, he started over to the garage, his truck parked outside of it, and he took the keys from his pocket before climbing inside of it.

The drive to the gas station seemed to drone on longer than usual. Typically, Isaac started every other morning at the gas station, though this was the earliest he had been there in a while. He parked the car and stepped out of it before entering the tiny corner store, and he instantly started over to the drinks. His face was flat as he pulled out a bottle of his favorite iced tea, and he instantly placed his hand over the cap to open it. He took four large sips before he fastened the cap and stepped up to the counter, the woman behind it staring at him funny, but he knew it was due to his actions with the drink.

"Is this all sir?" She asked as she took the opened tea to scan it. Isaac was shaking his head as he pulled out some cash.

"No," he answered. "I need a pack of Camel filters," he specified, only to pause suddenly. "Actually, two packs."

The lady obviously thought nothing of this, but Isaac had to wonder if he had made a terrible mistake. Either way, he made himself pay before he could change his mind, and when the lady handed him his items, he flashed her a sleepy, charming grin and was out of the door.

He finished his tea on the way back to the warehouse, and as per usual he tossed the bottle out of the window when it was empty. The warehouse appeared entirely empty as he parked his truck in front of the closed the garage, and he sighed as he collected both packs of cigarettes. He tucked one away in his pocket, but he held on to the other as he marched over to the exit door. He took two steps at a time before he eased open the door, and his boots echoed loudly in the basement as he descended the stairs and started toward Jenna's door. He thinned his lips as he gently pushed open the door, and he waited a moment for his eyes to adjust. Steady, and deep breathing filled the room, and once his eyes had adjusted with aid to the dim light that flooded inside, he noticed a slender mound under the blanket on the cot. He quietly walked up to her bed, and with those same, tired eyes he stared down at her, her black hair masking her face entirely from view. A long minute later, he finally dropped the fresh box of cigarettes down on to the exposed area of the cot between her curled frame, and without any further actions he turned to head out of her room. He gently closed the door behind him, and he began to venture back upstairs, figuring this morning would be a good time to get further work done on the Challenger.

–

Jenna found herself waking for no particular reason that next morning, other than it naturally being her body's time to rise. As consciousness spread through her, Jenna groaned slightly as she moved to stretch out her legs, but as soon as she had, she heard something fall onto the concrete floor. Her brow furrowed as she stopped mid stretch, and wondering what had caused the noise, she finally forced her eyes open before glancing over the edge of the cot. At first she thought her groggy mind was playing tricks on her, and with a sigh she closed her eyes again, shutting out the blurred images as she let out a yawn. This time, when she re-opened them, she focused them on the object, and strong confusion spread through her as she stared down at a pack of cigarettes. She turned her body slightly to reach down for the pack, and she grew even more shocked when she saw it was brand new; not even the plastic wrapper had been undone. She cocked an eyebrow as she turned onto her back, wondering where it had come from, though in the back of her mind she was sure she knew. It had to have been Isaac. _Who else would it be? _Jenna wondered to herself.

She pushed the blankets off of her before she stepped out of the bed, the concrete floor so cold it felt as though it was burning her feet. Jenna tried to ignore this as she pulled out her bag from under the cot to find something to wear, but as soon as her fingers touched one of her new pairs of cargo pants, she instantly remembered her vow to herself. She was over everything, including Bane's operations. If Isaac had bought her the pack as a way to perhaps try and make amends, then fine, but Jenna was through wearing the uniform that represented her unhappiness. She had been so stupid in the first place to have even tried.

She pulled up a pair of black tights, put on a long sleeve, dark purple shirt and tied on her pair of Converse before she grabbed a lighter and the cigarettes to start packing them. She firmly hit the top of the box repeatedly on her palm as she made her way toward the door, and once she had, she pulled off the plastic and let it fall to the floor. She opened the door, not bothering to peek around it to see who was present in the basement, and she immediately stepped out to start toward the stairs. She saw that Bane's door was closed, but she ignored this as she started up the stairs.

As she made her way to the exit door, she pulled out the first cigarette from the pack before tucking the box in between the front of her hip and pants, but as soon as she opened the door she was immediately greeted with the harshest cold she had felt in a long time. She thinned her lips as she stepped outside, letting the door close behind her, and she hunched her shoulders as she brought up the lighter to light the cigarette she had placed in between her pink lips. Her exhale occurred in short, cold spurts as she started down the stairs, noticing the garage had been lifted up half way, and she started toward it as she took another drag. She felt slightly nervous as she approached the garage, sure that Isaac was inside, and she began to wonder if it was even him who had bestowed her with the new pack. But again, she reminded herself that anyone else at the warehouse was vastly unlikely. None of the other thugs paid her any attention, she wasn't sure if they even knew what her name was, and why on Earth would Bane find a way to get her cigarettes?

Fighting through her uncertainty, Jenna knelt down once she approached the garage, and the first thing she saw was Isaac's boots sticking out from the passenger side of the car as he leaned inside of it, doing something to the interior of the Challenger. Jenna crouched down slightly lower to move inside the garage, and once she had, Isaac instantly leaned out of the car to glance at her.

He appeared more tired than usual. His normal, sleepy-looking eyes were more accented, complete with eyelids that were droopier with dark semi-circles under his blue eyes. His hair was more unkempt than normal, and his frown appeared deeper, and more permanent. Suddenly, Jenna didn't want to talk to him at all, especially after she remembered in full all that Isaac had said to her the night before.

"Hey," Jenna finally said to break the silence. Isaac merely raised his eyebrows as he stepped out of the car, wondering why now he had even bought her the cigarettes. Suddenly, he didn't want to talk either. "Um, did you get me these cigarettes?" She tried to ask in a somewhat pleasant tone. Isaac merely nodded as he stepped up to the work bench. Jenna frowned slightly. "Well, thanks. I guess," she added.

Isaac remained silent for a moment, his mind reminding him of his sleepless night and the reasons why he had bought Jenna the cigarettes. Finally, he couldn't take the remembrance, and finally, he opened his mouth to speak as he turned to face her, but he kept his focus off of her.

"Look," he finally started. "About last night... I was angry, and I let it get the best of me."

His words surprised Jenna, but regardless, she made herself stand there, shivering due to the cold as she waited for him to go on.

"What happened with Bane... I understand that it wasn't –that it couldn't– have been entirely your fault. I guess it's no one's fault based on the circumstances."

Jenna tried to interrupt him. "Isaac, I–"

"No, you don't have to explain yourself," Isaac interrupted her. "You are _Bane's _prisoner... if anyone can even call you that anymore. Regardless of your title, it's Bane's decision with what he does with... or to... you."

Jenna was staring at him, and the entire time Isaac was speaking she noticed he never looked at her once. "Are you... apologizing to me?" She had to ask, and she tried to mask the relief in her voice.

"No," Isaac replied quickly, finally looking up at her. "Not entirely. I apologize for letting my anger get the best of me, that wasn't fair to you. But I don't wish to restore what we previously had."

"A... friendship?" Jenna asked. This had to be the most bizarre apology and discussion ever.

"Yeah," Isaac replied with a small laugh. "Whatever you want to call it. I like you Jenna. That I can't help. But this–" he motioned between them with his finger. "Will never grow into a friendship, and it shouldn't. Do you understand?"

"No," Jenna answered truthfully, realizing suddenly that her answer only forced the awkward moment to prolong on for even longer now. But she didn't understand. "Isaac, I–"

"Barsad," he said suddenly as he nodded slightly, his eyes sliding closed as he tried to keep his patience. "It's Barsad."

Jenna's lips parted slightly. She couldn't even call him Isaac anymore? _Fine. _"Barsad," she corrected, unable to feel as though this name was completely incorrect for her to say. "You can't just start to help me out, and then the next second turn your back on me. I nee-" she stopped. _No_, she thought. _I don't need _him_. I just need a friend... _

"I'll help you," Isaac replied. "I'll help you with Bane's tasks. I'll help you learn how to operate the weaponry I've mastered when the time comes for you to use it, and I'll help to ensure you carry out your duties as required."

"Isaa– Barsad, that's not what I meant," Jenna quickly started as she took a step closer, realizing she hadn't taken a drag from her cigarette in minutes. "Why are you going all tactical on me suddenly? Whether you have shit to do for Bane or not doesn't matter. I have a hard time believing your interest and sincerity at my parent's party, or in the car, or here in the beginning was fake. It was real, right? ...Right?"

Isaac was glaring at her. "It doesn't matter. It was a mistake. Around here, there's no time for friendship, and Bane has learned from his previous mistakes with who he recruits to join his army. He has purposely collected handfuls of Gotham's most dangerous and broken thugs to carry out his plans. Dangerous, because he needs men to serve out the most cruelest of tasks effortlessly, and broken, because now they know nothing more than to apply their pure _loyalty _to the man who offered them all this. There's no time for laughter, for secrets, for _help _from the heart, for bonding."

Jenna was frowning. "That sounds like a personal experience. And I don't buy it. All those guys up there? They're mindless. Stupid. They'd rat out Bane any time to save their own lives."

"You're wrong," Isaac said with a small, sleepy grin. "Their loyalty can't be broken, even when everything else for them has been. A countless number of them have already died to protect Bane, his plans, and his honor."

"That's a lot of loyalty for hired help," Jenna returned, trying to keep her own patience. "Isaac, you can keep your loyalty to Bane and still have room for a friendship," Jenna went on, holding her hand out for emphasis as she stepped closer to him, her cigarette completely burnt out now due to the cold, but regardless she still held onto it.

"Not to his hostage," Isaac replied. "Not to someone who could be gone tomorrow. It's pointless Jenna. Don't you think you should have more to worry about than friendship?"

"No," Jenna defended. "Because a friend is what I could really use right now in all of this. As stupid as it sounds, as _childish _as it sounds, I don't care. Your advice really helped me, Isaac." Even if his advice had helped her in all the wrong ways, Jenna still found herself holding on to it. "I don't know what I'm doing with anything, I need someone I can _talk_ to."

"As I said, I'll help you with what matters. That's the duty Bane has assigned to me. I'm through with the anger toward you, and I'm over trying to figure out what's going on with you." Isaac stepped closer to her, and Jenna held her breath once he had approached, watching as he reached into his pocket. He gently grabbed her wrist a second later, and Jenna allowed him to lift her hand up to her mouth, and she placed the cigarette in between her lips, figuring that was what Isaac wanted when she saw he had drawn out a lighter. "You'll learn," Isaac assured her as he lifted up the lighter, the flame licking the end of the cigarette to bring it back to life. "Soon, you'll see, in one way or another, that there is no time for friendships or anything of the sort around here. And you'd be smart to stop perusing it. So let us end on these good terms."

_Good terms_? Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as she took the cigarette from her lips to exhale. "Isaac," she started again as he started to back away from her.

"Barsad," he corrected her. "Finish your smoke, then go inside, Jenna."

It was the last thing he said to her before he turned around to walk deeper into the warehouse, and in seconds time, he had disappeared around the corner. Jenna stood there with her mouth agape, completely unsure of what to make of all this. So Isaac, or _Barsad_, Jenna thought sourly to herself, had tried to end the start of their friendship on good terms, but Jenna couldn't figure out why. Why couldn't he be interested in her? She was interested in him. Why couldn't he help her out in the ways she needed help the most? Isaac had been the only light in the darkness for her. But now, it seemed that light had burned out, and reached the end of its short life. Now, Jenna was alone, and forced to face these dark problems alone. And what was worse? The longer she stayed here, the more and more the problems added on to each other, and grew more and more intricate. But Isaac had made himself clear, and the last thing Jenna needed was to nag him, and end up adding another problem on for herself. She shook her head sourly to herself as she threw her cigarette onto the ground, and she immediately started toward the garage door to head back inside the building.

–

Isaac's words on loyalty would not leave her head the majority of the day._ "He has purposely collected handfuls of Gotham's most dangerous and broken thugs to carry out his plans. Dangerous, because he needs men to serve out the most cruelest of tasks effortlessly, and broken, because now they know nothing more than to apply their pure loyalty to the man who offered them all this."_ Isaac had told her. Jenna understood why Bane would need dangerous men, but broken? What did that mean?

First of all, regardless of its definition, how would Bane know that each of his henchmen were 'broken'? What did he do, background checks? Jenna thought angrily to herself. _Of course fucking not_. So how would he know that he was picking out 'damaged' people? Was it evident to him? Was he able to see something in their eyes that others were not? _What does it matter_, Jenna thought. As long as they do what he says, who cares who they were before all this.

_But loyalty?_ Jenna thought. Why would somebody who was considered 'broken' be a stronger candidate for loyalty? Isaac made it sound as though Bane had rescued them. _Yeah right_, Jenna thought as she turned to lay down in her cot in her room. _Bane, some sort of savior? Here to offer Gotham's worst a second chance? Bane doesn't offer second chances... _Broken, like mentally? Or like somebody who has been to hell and back and has learned the hardships of life? Jenna thought back to Isaac's words again, and she closed her eyes as she analyzed and re-analyzed them. Broken, like somebody who once understood true love and deep friendship, and who's relationship had shattered, thus leaving nothing but their learned loyalty to be applied to the monster who _had _offered them a second chance in life, a chance to forget about all that deep emotional shit and live primarily on the surface, never to feel deeply about anything again. But did that make sense? Jenna wondered. Could that be what happened to Isaac? "._..Bane has learned from his previous mistakes with who he recruits to join his army." _Jenna recalled what Isaac had told her. Is that why he had failed with his previous plans, prior to Jenna's move to Gotham? Due to not yet broken, and un-loyal recruits? Could this be why Bane had chosen to keep Jenna around? ...Did he consider her to be... _broken_?

Before Jenna could stop herself, she was already getting out of bed and heading out of her room. Isaac's words to her had lit a new found, curious fire inside of her. Despite what she had said to herself yesterday about being over everything, suddenly she felt passionate about discovering the answers to the questions that were burning holes in her mind. But as per usual, once she heard the sound of her knocks on Bane's door, reality entered her mind, and as she stood there, hoping now that he wouldn't answer the door, she wondered exactly what she was going to say to him if he did.

As luck would have it, Jenna grew nervous at the sound of Bane's door being unlocked, and she held her breath as he opened it. He was shirtless, and clad in nothing more than a pair of black sweatpants and his bulky belt on top. He hadn't been expecting Jenna to be standing at his door, he hadn't seen her all day, but regardless, as it always was, his curiosity was instantly heightened. He said nothing as he waited for her to speak, and once her eyes were finished with roaming down and up his body, she finally released the breath she had been holding.

"Why didn't you kill me?" Jenna instantly forced herself to ask, and she waited as Bane's eyebrows rose from in between his mask.

"Because I felt that killing you would be a mistake, as I've told you before," Bane spoke in a low, quiet voice.

"Why do you keep me around then?" Jenna rephrased, Bane able to make out the burning curiosity in her eyes. Though this was more than curiosity... this was something deeper. Suddenly, Bane was at a loss for words.

"Because you possess strong determination to live," Bane replied a long moment later. "You live due to permission of your parent's death. You live solely based on your strong determination to stay alive. I've told you this–"

"Do you consider me to be broken?" Jenna interrupted, the question flying from her mouth before she could restrain it.

"Broken?" Bane repeated slowly as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head slightly. "Broken in which way?"

"I don't know," Jenna stuttered as she glanced away, wishing now that she hadn't even come to his door. After the discussion she and Bane had ended on the previous night, she was sure he would bring it up again, and now that she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't even want an answer to her question. But before she could change her mind and start away, Bane was already speaking.

"If you mean broken in the sense of your deceased family and your twisted sense of grief over their, _permitted _death, then yes. But I sense that you mean something... else. Why do you ask, Jenna?"

Jenna was frowning as she stared at the floor. "Nothing," she replied. She had her answer now. "It doesn't matter."

"Ah, but it does, to you," Bane said now, knowing that something was deeply bothering her. But why did he care to figure out what it was?

"I was... I am... sad about my parent's death," Jenna switched subjects, feeling the need to defend herself in some way.

"Really," Bane went on now, his tone suggesting he was humoring her. "Because the impact of their death never seemed to upset you anymore than finding out your favorite TV program had been canceled. You got over it quickly, moved on quicker than anyone would have ever anticipated. You never shed a tear over their fate."

"Maybe none that you witnessed," Jenna tried to defend again, but her efforts were weak.

"No," Bane disagreed. "Your eyes tell the truth. Not because of what emotions they hold in them, but because of their physical attributes. Since your arrival here your eyes have never been glossed over, red, bloodshot, or swollen."

"Not everybody cries when their sad," Jenna retorted gently as she glanced up at him finally. She recalled shedding one, single tear upon witnessing her parent's death, but she had not cried any other time after. But she wasn't about to let Bane win.

"No," Bane agreed. "But they do when faced with real, profound loss, or tragedy." He was silent for a long moment, and Jenna picked up on this. His eyes had wandered away from hers, as if he was remembering something, but as soon as Jenna could wonder what he was thinking, he glanced back to her. "Did you ever experience that lump that rises and grows within your throat during and after their death?" Bane wondered now. Jenna was silent, and Bane could tell she was working out some sort of lie in her head, judging by the way she had focused her gaze on something else. "The truth, Jenna," he added more sternly.

"...No."

"Precisely. That's how I know you didn't cry, or feel intense sadness and loss. Their death, their entire relationship with you, was meaningless, and never reached your heart. So when you ask me if I consider you to be _broken_, the answer is a definite yes."

"Okay," Jenna said now, and Bane grew surprised at how easily she was giving up. "That's all I needed to know." She began to turn around, but once she gave Bane her back, he was instantly stopping her.

"Jenna," he spoke her name, and he waited for her to turn around. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," she lied before trying to turn around again, but she felt her heart drop to her stomach when she heard Bane step out of his room and approach her, and she sucked in a sharp breath when he placed his hand heavily on her shoulder before forcing her to turn around and face him.

"Your lies are weak and amusing," Bane said. "And unless you want to fool me, you'd better work on strengthening them. _Why do you ask_?"

It was evident that Bane was losing patience, and Jenna swallowed as she stared up at him. "Isaac just... mentioned something about that this morning."

"Barsad?" Bane asked, his eyebrows furrowing. "What did he say?" Deep inside, anger and a slight feeling of betrayal began to burn inside him. What had Isaac told her? Had he mentioned anything about... Talia?

"He was just telling me about the guys you pick to help you. About how they're dangerous, and... broken."

Bane instantly felt a small sense of relief. "What about it?" He pressed on, his hand still firmly fixed on her shoulder, weighing down the right side of her body.

"That their dangerous because they need to be, obviously," she rolled her eyes to herself, but she never glanced back into Bane's eyes. "And how their broken state ensures their... loyalty... to you."

Bane was still staring at her. "And why would he say this to you?" This was irrelevant, but Bane wanted to know what had brought up such a conversation.

"Because he was... breaking up with me." Jenna had no idea on how else to explain it, and she jumped when he laughed, a deep, rumbling noise escaping from deep within him, and when she glanced up she saw that he had bowed his head slightly.

"He broke up with you? I wasn't aware you two shared something special." Bane laughed again, though some sort of odd feeling had washed over him.

"It's not funny, and I didn't mean it like that," Jenna said sternly, feeling herself getting annoyed now. "He told me we couldn't be friends."

"Aww," Bane went on now. "What an extremely _childish _thing to say."

"I don't care," Jenna said. "He was the only one helping me with anything around here, and now, randomly, he blew me off."

"Why?" Bane mused.

"He said around here there's no time for friendship or anything of the sort," Jenna retorted, her tone suggesting that she should have her arms crossed tightly with a pout on her face as she focused on the wall. Bane was grinning.

"And, does that go back to what he told you? About everybody being _broken_?"

_Everybody_? Jenna wondered to herself, but she merely nodded at his question. "Apparently everyone around here has had their go with any sort of relationship and now their incapable of having any more." Jenna didn't realize she had verbally shared her theory on being 'broken' until it was too late, but regardless, she didn't let this realization make itself physical.

Jenna was too smart for her own good, Bane realized. Unless, Isaac had told her more than she was letting on. Bane figured he would have to ask him about that. "There are more important things to accomplish around here than puppy dog friendships, Jenna. Accept his decision, respect it, and leave him alone. _That _is an order."

"Whatever," Jenna said, completely in a sour mood now. "Can I go?"

"Of course," Bane said as he raised his hand from her shoulder, and he held it above her arm as she immediately turned to retreat to her room. Bane watched her go, his eyes wandering over her body and the clothes she wore upon it. His gray orbs wandered down her purple, long sleeved shirt that covered her slim back and half of her wide hips, before they looked over the tights that hugged her ass and thighs. "Jenna," he said just as she had reached her door, and when she turned around, she watched his eyes quickly roam back up her body. "You're not wearing your new attire," he pointed out. "Why?"

Jenna shrugged. "Didn't feel like it," she retorted, and without anything further to say, she stepped into her room and immediately closed the door behind her.

–

So Bane considered her to be broken. Why did this bother her so much? Jenna was contemplating this as she stepped outside the exit door. If she _was _broken, was this the primary reason why he kept her around? Because he knew she had failed with any sort of deep, emotional connections in any sort of way due to annoying, uncaring parents who hovered too close, thus leading him to predict her loyalties? But she wasn't loyal to him... was she?

Jenna sighed as she lit up a cigarette. She had only tried to run away once, and though her efforts had failed miserably, she remembered that she did not have the intentions of informing anybody about Bane or his whereabouts. She had just wanted to get away from him. Now, even though she didn't want to or like it, she followed his commands like a dog, and she had even proven her loyalty on her own due to not trusting Karly. She had informed Bane of Karly's simple act of switching rooms, and had even talked to him about why she didn't trust the red-head. Whether he believed her or not or wanted to hear more about it didn't matter; what mattered was that Jenna had _wanted _to inform him. If that didn't scream loyal, she didn't know what did.

_Well fuck_, she thought to herself as she finally turned to start down the four steps. In just a mere week, how could she already be considered loyal to Bane? Just because she was 'broken' didn't mean she was destined to naturally be loyal. Bane wasn't giving her a second chance in life, and he most certainly was not offering her a better life than the one she had before... was he?

_Fuck no_, she thought slowly to herself as she shook her head, lifting the cigarette to her lips for another drag. She was positive that Isaac had been merely trying to make a point in order for Jenna to leave him alone, but she couldn't help but to hold on to his words, and smother them with her intense wonder and questions. Upon glancing up, she saw that Isaac was marching over in her direction, and her heart began to race slightly as she wondered if she was still allowed to at least talk to him.

"Hey," she said before she could come to a decision just as he started past her, and she turned to face him when he continued on toward the exit door. "Where are you going?" she asked casually.

"Bane needs to see me," he replied in a flat tone, though his tone was free of an anger or annoyance. Jenna watched him go for a moment, figuring a flat tone was better than no answer at all.

Isaac pulled open the door and immediately stepped inside to start down the stairs. He saw that Bane's door was open, and just when he approached it he left three loud knocks on the frame.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked, his eyes focused on Bane as he turned away from his desk.

"Jenna brought up something interesting earlier today," Bane began as he stepped closer to his right hand man. "About everybody being dangerous and... broken? She said you mentioned it."

"Yes, I did," Isaac replied, the truth evident in his voice, just as Bane knew it would be. Isaac never lied to him. Bane respected this, and in turn, Bane never lied to Isaac. There was no need to with him.

"She explained that you broke up with her," Bane went on in an amused tone, and he watched a sly grin appear on Isaac's lips as he ducked his head to shake it. "Which is when this discussion came to life. I want to know what you told her."

"She would say that, wouldn't she?" Isaac replied first as he struggled to remove the grin from his face, but when he glanced up at Bane he saw he was grinning slightly as well. "Not _break up _as much as increase my distance with her."

"Which I think was a necessary thing to do," Bane agreed.

"I told her around here there is no time for friendship, especially not now with what we have in store for Gotham. Then I just I explained everybody's dangerous and broken state... nobody in... specific... though..." he trailed off. "But I just said it... I didn't think she'd run with that idea. But that's all I said. Nothing more."

Bane was staring directly into Isaac's eyes while Isaac stood tall and stared back. "No discussion of... of Talia... was brought up, correct?"

"Correct," Isaac assured, although he realized now that perhaps his words had alluded to not only his own past, but Bane's as well. "She never came up, and I would never bring that topic up. I was just trying to end things on... good terms."

"Good terms," Bane repeated as he turned to step up to his TV again, and Isaac watched as he turned it on, the screen filling up with small, square and rectangle images that the cameras all around the building were currently picking up. Isaac's eyes wandered over the still image of Jenna's room before he raised them to stare at the garage outside, and in unison, his eyes fell onto Jenna just as Bane's did. "Why?" He asked finally as he watched Jenna stand awkwardly in the middle of the building and garage, smoking.

Isaac shrugged. "I just felt like it was the right thing to do," he explained.

"Why even end the friendship?" Bane mused now, his eyes still focused on her. "After all, with all the terrible, _terrible _things she is going through, perhaps she could use one."

Bane's voice carried amusement and sarcasm, but Isaac had to wonder if he was being sincere. He cleared his throat. "I don't want to be," he replied, ignoring the fact that Jenna had nearly said that same thing to him hours prior. Had she told Bane everything? If she had, then why? "She's just a hostage... or part of the crew, I don't know. But I don't have time to sit and chat and learn about her. I don't want to. She's... shallow," Isaac added, though the odd pang that went through his heart made him wonder for a split second if he really believed this or not. "I have more important things to do, and more important people to talk to."

Bane was nodding. "I can respect this, and as I've said I consider it to be a smart decision. Jenna is tough... brave... even if she doesn't primarily exude it. She'll be fine on her own. This may be... _good _for her..." Bane trailed off for a moment, and once he realized he had grown completely silent, he quickly spoke up. "Thank you, Barsad."

Bane glanced at him from over his shoulder quickly before he faced forward again, and Isaac nodded with a small grin before he understood his cue to leave, and Bane listened as he headed up the stairs. He kept his eyes focused on the screen, and he watched now as Isaac made his way back toward the garage. He watched Jenna turn to watch him approach, but it seemed as though she said nothing to him as he moved past her toward the garage. Bane narrowed his eyes on her, and he watched now as she tossed her cigarette down before starting back over to the stairs. Why had Jenna taken Isaac's words so deep to heart? And why did it bother her so much that she had to know if Bane considered her to be broken? What did it matter? For some reason or another, it was bothering Bane, and the fact that he was even bothered with it in the first place, bothered even more...

The sun had started to set outside, and as Jenna made her way inside she tried to distract her mind with trying to think back on at least one productive thing she had done all day. Sitting alone in her room all day was starting to take a toll on her, and she realized this finally when she noticed how desperate she was to talk to someone, even if that person was Bane. But her distraction only lasted for so long, and her mind instantly reverted back to her previous thoughts. She didn't get far with them, however, when she noticed how dark the basement was. She paused at the top of the stairs and stared into the darkness, able to hear a faint dripping noise somewhere within the distance. Why was it so dark? Who had turned off the lights?

She swallowed before taking her first step down the stairs, and she placed her hand flat against the wall for aided guidance. Her eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, and she was able to see the light flooding out from the bottom of her closed door. She was prepared to start toward it, but she paused once she reached the bottom of the stairs. Was she really prepared to sit in her room for more hours on end? All she would do was lay in her cot, and her mind would be free to try to interpret everything she didn't want to talk about. She couldn't go talk to Isaac, he had made it perfectly clear that he was not her go-to man for boredom anymore, and like hell Jenna could try socializing with any of the other thugs around the warehouse. So who did that leave?

Jenna bit her lip. Did she _really _want to go try to strike up some casual conversation with Bane, just as a way to distract her from everything she didn't want to think about? Would that even be possible? Every time she knocked on his door, Bane always practiced great patience with her. Would he now? Would he even allow it? Jenna was desperate, and she wanted to try.

As she made her way toward his door, she tried to think of what she could say. The closer she got, however, the more she had to question herself. What was she doing, trying to hang out with Bane. It had to be the most absurd idea she had ever come up with. Why would she want to spend time with Bane anyway? _Well... shit_. Jenna could think of at least one reason why...

Once her final questioning was over, she realized she had finally approached his door. She stopped in front of it, seriously debating with herself if she wanted to go through with it or not. She was sick of being alone, but at what cost? What if Bane brought up her cell phone again? What if he was mean?

_Oh for God fucking sakes_, Jenna thought sourly to herself as she reached out to knock on his door quickly. _Mean, really? Of course he'll be mean you retard. _Jenna was shaking her head to herself, feeling furiously annoyed with herself suddenly. The deed was done, however, and she had already knocked, but when Bane finally answered she hadn't meant to take out her bad mood on him.

"Jenna?" He asked as he peered down at her, and when she lifted her eyes up she saw he was still shirtless, and still wearing that belt and the sweats. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this... _surprise_?" He growled. "Did Barsad upset you again?"

"Fuck you," Jenna instantly spat, only to realize quickly what she had said when Bane straightened his posture. "He didn't upset me again. He... never did in the first place."

"I considered you to be a wonderful liar in the beginning, but now..." Bane started. "Your lies are weak. What do you want?"

Jenna sighed, figuring she'd better just come out with the truth. What was the worst he would do? Slam the door in her face? "I-I'm... bored," she finally confessed.

"Bored?" Bane repeated, humor laced thickly throughout his metallic voice. He watched Jenna nod hopelessly as she reverted her gaze away. "And... what do you want me to do about it?"

Again, Jenna just simply shrugged while Bane shifted his weight to his left side.

"So, you, uninterested in everything suddenly, reach a breaking point and wander to my door, hoping for _me _to... _entertain you_? Is this correct?"

"Not entertain as much as just... _talk_."

"Talk," Bane repeated flatly, and he sighed. "What do you want to talk about, Jenna?"

Jenna shrugged again, but she finally lifted her eyes to look into his own. "Anything."

"Anything?" Bane boasted loudly, causing Jenna to flinch as she wondered if that was the wrong thing entirely to say. "Alright... let's discuss how incredibly_ anxious _you became last night when I asked you about-"

"No," Jenna interrupted before she could stop herself. "I told you, I threw it away at the diner." She knew him to be talking about the cell phone. Hating how quiet Bane became, she shifted her weight as she glanced away. "I... I don't want to talk about that."

"But you said _anything,_" Bane reminded her, wondering why he was even going along with this in the first place. Didn't he have anything important to do?

"I didn't mean stuff like that."

"Then what _did _you mean, Jenna?" Bane retorted, and Jenna could tell he was starting to lose his patience. Clearly, bothering him had been a terrible idea.

"Just... never mind," she finally said as she waved her hand in his direction, and she started to back away. "I just get tired of sitting in that room all fucking day. Sorry to have bothered you, _Sir_."

Bane watched her go for a moment, his eyes wandering over her body again while he tried to excuse her tone. "Jenna," he called, and he waited for her to turn around. Once she did, she watched his eyes wander back up her body slowly. "You never offered me a straight answer. Why have you gone back to wearing those clothes?"

Jenna shrugged. "I didn't feel like wearing all that stuff today. I told you."

"No," Bane said as he stepped out of his room now, and Jenna's body stiffened slightly as he slowly approached her. "You _lied _to me. You were so determined to prove a point the day you came back with them. What happened? The point was proven and then disregarded?" He finally approached her, and Jenna stared up at him while he glared down at her. "You know," he went on again a moment later. "That attire represented your place around here. It matched the rest of us. If you go back to wearing this-" he reached out to take a hold of her shirt in between his thumb and middle finger, and his gaze dropped down to his hand the same time Jenna's did. "You'll go back to being treated how you previously were."

"Like a child?" Jenna retorted as she lifted her eyes to stare up at him, and she waited until he glanced back up at her. "I didn't realize that it stopped," she added in a mumble. She gasped a short second later when Bane suddenly clenched his hand into a fist around the area of her shirt he was grabbing, and he pulled her closer to himself.

"Then perhaps you aren't very perceptive," Bane accused, his arm muscles tensed as he glared into her eyes. Jenna was frowning.

"I'm perceptive," she defended weakly, and Bane watched her eyes wander away from his.

"If you were perceptive you would have noticed that you _have _been being treated differently lately."

Jenna rolled her eyes, more defensive words ready to blow out of her mouth, but she held them back as she bit down on her tongue. Bane watched her intently, waiting for her to speak, anticipating her bratty tone as she tried to tell him off, but surprisingly, these words never came. Although he and Barsad enjoyed the occasional childish joke with her, Bane had not been kidding when he pointed out that she _had _been being treated differently. It appeared as though Jenna was correcting her ways, for he noticed she was improving with holding herself back when it was unnecessary to speak. This impressed him now, and Jenna glanced back up to him when he slowly let go of her shirt.

"You may come into my room to _talk_," Bane said suddenly, and he watched Jenna's eyes not only widen, but lighten up slightly, as well. "Perhaps you could entertain _me_."

As he turned to start away, his words caused a bone-chilling shock to run up Jenna's spine, but she tried to ignore this as she followed him toward his room. He stopped at the door and allowed her to walk inside ahead of him, and with a racing heart Jenna took in a deep breath as she turned around in just enough time to watch Bane slowly close his door. She watched as he stepped over to his desk before slowly sitting down at it, and he immediately picked up a red pen once he had. She took a step back, and once her legs hit his bed, she wondered if he would grow upset if she was to sit on it. She decided she might as well press her luck further, so without a second thought she hopped onto his stiff mattress, and let her legs hang over the edge. She glanced back over to Bane, and her eyes instantly fell onto the frightening scar that stretched and branched all the way down his spine. Her eyes slowly followed it down before they rested on his belt, the hard material covering the entire bottom portion of his back.

"Well," Bane finally said a few moments later, and Jenna listened to the noise of his pen as he circled something over and over again. "Entertain me."

"That belt," Jenna finally said as she lifted her eyes to the back of his head. "Why do you always wear it?"

Bane circled something again, and Jenna listened as he wrote something down quickly immediately after. "Posture," he said simply. Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as her eyes dropped back down to the belt.

"Posture," she repeated somewhat flatly. What a terrible answer. "Does it have something to do with that scar on your back?"

"Perhaps," Bane answered, and he grinned slightly when Jenna sighed.

"These are God awful answers," she accused.

"Why all the curiosity toward _me _suddenly?" Bane retorted back, and he waited for a moment in silence.

"I... don't know," Jenna finally answered, and as Bane circled something again she listened to him chuckle.

"_That_, is a 'God awful answer'," he replied, and Jenna couldn't help but to roll her eyes again.

"I've always wondered about that... the scar, I mean," she said. "Where did it come from?"

"Knives, scissors, scalpels... and anything else the... _doctors_ used."

"Doctors?" Jenna pressed on further. "What doctors?"

Bane grinned again slightly as he shook his head, but suddenly he wondered if inviting Jenna in here, or at least letting her ask these questions, was a bad idea after all. "Forget about it," he said. "It's not important." He could practically feel Jenna's disappointment radiating from her, and he had to wonder for a moment why he had volunteered so much information in the first place. Maybe because she was one of the first people to have had the courage to even ask him about it.

The room grew silent for another few moments while Bane continued to circle certain key areas on a large map of Gotham. He could sense Jenna sitting behind him, on his bed, and although they had grown silent, he found himself enjoying it. He wasn't sure what had come over him to invite her into his room, but he'd be lying to himself if he denied enjoying her silent company. While this was unnerving, it was also... comforting? _It's fine_, he thought to himself just when he felt himself getting upset over the fact. It wasn't like he had to admit this to anybody.

But as soon as Bane really began to enjoy the silence, Jenna spoke up again. "What's your real name?" She knew Bane to be thinking how childish she was with asking all her useless questions, and she felt like a child herself, but she couldn't help it. These were questions that she had always wondered about him, but never had the courage or time to ask. Now, after she had managed to get an invitation into his room, and not sit alone by herself, she wanted to use this time to her advantage.

"...Bane," he finally repeated, pausing from his work to slowly move his eyes to the left, and just barely he could see her staring at him from his peripheral vision.

"No, like... you're _real_ name."

"I told you," Bane said as he glanced back down to the map. "It's Bane. Nothing more, nothing less. Do these inquiries have a point, Jenna?"

"No."

"Then please refrain from asking useless questions."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Jenna asked back, a sour tone laced lightly through her voice.

"Enjoy not being alone."

"Sitting in silence isn't what I had in mind," Jenna went on. "I could have gone and done that with Isaac..."

"If you don't like it, then you have my permission to go back to your room, and sit alone in the dark. And if you recall, I _ordered _you to leave Barsad alone."

He knew Jenna to be pouting, but he ignored this and pulled out a piece of paper he had been previously writing on from underneath the map, and Jenna listened to him scribble down something onto it. She straightened her back, trying to inconspicuously look over his shoulder and onto the desk, but when the bed moaned slightly under her weight, she immediately slouched her back again. "What are you working on?"

Bane sighed. "Nothing of your concern."

_Jesus Christ then_, Jenna thought sourly to herself as she glanced away from him. Why had she even bothered to try and weasel her way in here? Had it even been worth it? So far, her heart had not ceased it racing, and she felt herself getting more and more nervous the longer she sat there. She wasn't sure if this was better than being alone, but for some reason or another, her body would not allow her to stand up and leave.

So she remained sitting in his bed in the nearly pure silence, listening to Bane scrawl on the paper with his red pen while simultaneously listening to his slow and steady breathing through his mask. His breathing was admittedly soothing, and as it filled the room, she found herself closing her eyes. She moved her hands from her lap and slowly slid them onto the wrinkly blankets over the bed, and she allowed her mind to roam. She found it amazing that Bane had actually invited her into his room for nearly no reason at all, and she continued to find his patience absolutely astonishing. Although he hadn't given her any real or straight answers to her childish questions, he barely had sounded annoyed, and regardless, he had still provided her with some answer. Rather than bluntly telling her to shut her mouth, he had diverted the conversation and the questions to the point of shushing Jenna into silence. Oddly enough, she found herself fine with this now, and the more she thought about it. Granted she was sitting in silence, she wasn't alone, even if it was Bane accompanying her. Plus, she was in a new room, that was a plus.

She opened her eyes and stared ahead at his dresser. All of the drawers were closed, but on top various pieces of paper covered the surface. On top of the paper laid small, unopened packages of syringe needles, and Jenna thought back to the time she had seen Bane injecting himself with them. What exactly were they, again?

Some sort of hand gun lay on the surface as well, next to the needles, along with a folded shirt, that long, leather, fingerless glove and arm band, and some sort of unplugged machine type object in the shape of a rectangular box. Her eyes wandered away from this, over Bane, up to the blank TV, and eventually she glanced over her shoulder to the other side of the bed, where stacks of different colored boxes sat. She wondered vaguely what was in them before her attention was reverted away when Bane let out a sigh. She quickly glanced back over to him, and after watching him vigorously cross something out, she closed her eyes when his regular breathing patterns returned.

She closed her eyes again a moment later, listening, and she couldn't stop herself from allowing herself to lean back. Once her back touched the surface of the bed, she rested her head down, and she let out a sigh of her own as she let her body relax completely, figuring suddenly that she should allow herself to have this; her cot was starting to screw up her back and neck. At least thirty seconds on a real bed –even if that bed's mattress was stiff as hell– made all the difference right now.

Hearing her actions, Bane slowly looked away from the paper and map, and he turned to glance over his shoulder. His eyes fell on Jenna's still frame as she lay on his bed, her legs bent at the knee at the edge of the bed, her shins hanging off the edge and her feet a good foot above the floor, and his eyes wandered back up her body. It was in his character to want to tell her to get up and just up and leave, but the words halted at the tip of his tongue, and the longer he stared at her chest moving up and down as she peacefully breathed, the easier it became to just stay quiet. _She's probably getting even more bored... and tired_, Bane thought to himself. _She'll want to leave soon_. This thought satisfied him, so he turned to glance back down to the map. Besides, why should her presence even be bothering him in the first place? She had stopped with her absurd questions, and she had understood his generous hint to be quiet. So what if she was just laying down in his bed? It wasn't like she was even laying down the correct way. Her cot was probably the most uncomfortable thing to her, perhaps he should let her lay there for a while...

Bane closed his eyes and sighed. _Really_? He thought sourly to himself. The fuck did he care if the cot he had so _graciously _bestowed her was uncomfortable. He had given her a bed, something to sleep on other than the floor. She had to at least be grateful for that, especially when a lot of his men slept on the floors themselves. She never complained about it out loud to him, however... that was a good thing. He went back to his previous thoughts. She wasn't bothering him, so he figured he should let any miniscule, bothersome issue go.

He heard Jenna yawn a moment later, and he couldn't help but to glance over his shoulder again. He watched her arch her back slightly as she fought to keep her arms still at her side, but upon glancing at them he saw that they had stiffened as she finished her yawn. When he glanced back to her face, he saw her eyes were still closed, and he stared at her for a moment, memories of how soft her skin had felt forming in his mind. He allowed himself to think about this for a moment before he finally forced himself to turn back to his work. His _important _work. Jenna, to say the least, was _not _important...

Jenna had heard Bane turn this time, his chair squeaking slightly, but she forced herself to keep her eyes closed. She knew him to be looking at her, she could feel the intensity of his glare, but she knew it wasn't an angry glare. Bane was more than likely peeved she was laying in his bed, or still in his room for that matter, but when she heard him turn around a short moment later she knew it wasn't a big deal. She felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier the longer she rested, but she forced her eyes open when she heard Bane's chair squeak again. She hadn't meant to glance at him, but it had been an instant reaction, and once her eyes fell on his shirtless frame she immediately wished she hadn't looked at all. She listened as Bane let out a near silent yawn as well, wondering for a short second how far his mask allowed his jaw to drop, but when he lifted his arms high above his head, her mind went blank. The muscles lacing his entire arms and back flexed to their near fullest, his hands clutched in tight fists, and her eyes wandered all over that was exposed as he performed the action. Her heart had started race as a tickling sensation started down below, and instantly growing frustrated at this she forced herself to look away. But as usual, her body betrayed her mind, and she found herself instantly glancing back at him. He finished the long yawn, and she watched his muscles slowly relax as he brought his arms back down. As she continued to stare at him, she began to grow frustrated when that tickling sensation ceased to go away. Why was she so attracted to him? When had the element of fear been replaced by wonder, and arousal? Why had that even happened in the first place? Maybe Bane was right. Maybe she _was _broken...

Her eyes wandered up his spinal scar again and rested on the back of his mask, a million questions going through her mind again. A new one formed in her head a second later, however, and it caused her to furrow her brow as she stared at him with suddenly exhausted eyes. She was beginning to understand why Bane refused to kill her, but why had he even chosen her in the first place?

"Can I ask you a question?" Jenna's low and tired voice broke through the silence, taking Bane by slight surprise, but he remained calm as he flipped over his piece of paper.

"You just did," he replied, and he knew Jenna to be rolling her eyes.

"No, seriously," she went on. "Can I?"

"There's your second one," Bane went on calmly. Jenna sighed. "I know you to have millions of questions running through your mind right now. You may pick _one_, and then you may ask no more."

_Hmm,_ Jenna thought to herself. "I want a straight, real answer though. The truth," she added firmly.

"Yes ma'am," Bane replied, unaware that his word choice had sent Jenna into a near frenzy. She clutched the blankets on either side of her as that tickling sensation grew even stronger and moved further down, and she couldn't stop her jaw from falling open slightly. Her eyes widened and brightened as she stared at him, her mind going lightheaded, and suddenly she couldn't remember anything she wanted to ask him. "Fire away," Bane prompted on a moment later as he looked back over to the map, and he continuously clicked the button on top of the pen over and over again as he waited.

Jenna was silent as she tried to decide what question to ask. What, _exactly_, in plain English, was that mask for? _Why _couldn't it come off? Did he want it to come off? Why had doctors operated on his back? Where did he _really _come from? With whatever was in those syringe needles, how did it work, and how often did he have to inject himself? _Shit, that would be two questions... Why _had he chosen her? Which question was the most important to ask? Which one was she most curious about?

"Why did you..." Jenna began strongly, only to immediately trail off. She continued to listen to him click the pen as he held perfectly still, waiting and breathing deeply suddenly, and she found herself unable to take her eyes off of him. That tickling sensation picked up strong again when she thought back to to his words... _"yes ma'am"... _Jenna blinked. "Are you almost done?"

The question flew out of her mouth before she could stop it, and now that it had been said, there was no taking it back. Her eyes had widened as she stared at him, her breathing growing exasperated and heavy, and she loosened her clutch on the blankets, feeling her body go weak and slightly numb. Had she _really _just asked that? _Oh fuck... _

Bane had glanced up from the papers with only his eyes to stare at the wall due to her question. It had taken him by immense surprise, and he couldn't help but to show it. The clicking had ceased, and his breathing became slow and barely audible. The room was deathly silent. "...why?" He finally asked.

What the hell did she say now? It was clear to her now why she had asked that question... her body was starting to lose all control and it had forced her into hinting to him to cease his work and go to her. Jenna's lips tingled as she searched for the right words. What did she say? Did she try to ask a different question? Did she tell him to forget about it? Did she just get up and leave out of shame and embarrassment? Or... did she just tell him the truth? What was the truth, exactly?

"Because... because... I-" she was stuttering like mad, and Bane licked his lips as he waited, his patience running out quicker than he could have ever expected. He was waiting for her to give him some absurd, but truthful answer, like she wanted him to finish so they could talk again, or so she could ask him more questions, but deep down, he was positive she had something else in mind entirely. Would she admit it though? If not, what would Bane do? What would he say? "...I want you to... come over here."

Her words cut through the thickest tension like the sharpest knife, slowly and cleanly. So Bane had been correct, but he hadn't been entirely prepared for her to so bluntly speak the truth. Her words told him everything he needed to know, even though her answer was left to many interpretations. But given what had happened just a night ago, Bane knew exactly what she meant.

He closed his eyes when he felt blood rush downward, and his lips parted as he fought through the lightheaded feeling that had creeped up on him. Jenna felt even more lightheaded at the moment as she anticipated for him to act out on her words. What would he do? Would he ignore her? Would he come over? What would he do if he did? Hurt her? Kick her out? Or actually do what deep, deep down she was hoping he would? Jenna swallowed as she waited.

Bane was thinking deeply, but quickly. His body wanted to, but his mind was mainly against it. But had that night really been that bad? Had giving in to their desires really been the end of his world? He had never done anything like that before in his life, and early in his life he had given up on any thought about it completely. But once it had actually happened? Unfortunately, it was indescribable, and it had left his body aching for it again. He would never admit it though, and he had told himself over and over again it was a one time ordeal. But now, he was facing a tough decision. Did he go through with it again? What would happen after? What would it change, and how would it skew things that had already been changed after the first time they had?

"If I come over there..." he began slowly, purposely prolonging the moment. "What do you expect would happen?"

Such an unfair question. How was Jenna supposed to answer that? She was not about to let herself answer bluntly, but she was starting to fear if she didn't Bane would kick her out, and right now her body would _not _be having that. She was craving him suddenly, harder than ever, and she had a difficult time thinking about or desiring anything else at that moment. "I don't know," Jenna finally answered, and once she heard him slowly and quietly sigh, she immediately went on. "Whatever... you want."

"Whatever I want," Bane replied in a low growl, and he listened to Jenna's body squirm slightly on his bed. He grinned suddenly, unable to help it. He was the master at mind over body... why was he allowing his body to betray him? What made Jenna so special? "I don't know if that is such a good idea... for you."

"Why not?" Jenna breathed, feeling as though she had entered the twilight zone. It felt as though her speech was slowed, her words drawn out, while her actions lagged in time. The seconds ticked by slower than ever, seconds feeling like minutes and minutes like hours as she waited, and she continued to stare at his still frame while he stared blankly at the wall. Finally, Bane blinked, and he turned to glance over his shoulder at her, a strong shock running throughout her body and stinging her heart.

"Because what I may be... _desiring... _may not end well for _you_."

His words were terrifying, but they seemed to only turn Jenna on more. "I'm willing to find out," she finally replied, completely unsure where this sleepy, sexy, confident tone was coming from. Bane chuckled slowly as he shook his head, and Jenna's breath hitched in her throat as she watched him slowly stand up and take a step toward her.

"If you were smart," Bane began, "you would stand, and exit this room... right now." He continued to slowly approach her, and he watched her breathing become more and more shallow as her eyes followed his movements. Suddenly, she was unsure if Bane _was _desiring the same thing she was, and suddenly she felt completely vulnerable laying on her back. Once he approached the bed and was standing in front of her, he shook his head slowly to himself. "But you're not going to do that, are you Jenna?"

Jenna swallowed, unable to stop herself from speaking the words her body wanted to say. "No," she agreed. "Does that make me stupid, or brave?"

"A little bit of both," Bane answered as he stepped even closer to her, and at that moment, as he hovered over her slightly, he knew his body had won. His desires had overtaken his rational thinking, and they were holding them for ransom until he complied with what his body wanted. "You know, I really _detest _these clothes you're wearing."

Jenna could feel how wet she had become, and she easily held his eye contact, her desires at an all time high now. "Then why don't you take them off?"

"Oh, I'll do better than that, darling."

Jenna gasped at his words, feeling herself nearly ready to come just at the sound of his voice and word choice, but as soon as he had spoken, he reached out suddenly to grab the material covering her shoulders, and he yanked her up before he pulled his hands in opposite directions, tearing her purple shirt completely in half and exposing her red bra. His eyes instantly fell down to her breasts as Jenna let out another breath, the cold stinging her newly exposed skin, but she let Bane finish ripping her shirt completely until he was tossing it behind him onto the concrete floor. The room was spinning as Jenna struggled to keep herself sitting up, and this time around she found that she was not angry at Bane destroying yet another article of clothing. This time around, she found herself desperate to be out of them, even if that meant she'd never be able to wear them again.

She stood up suddenly and immediately stepped over to him, and as soon as she had approached him, she reached out to rake her nails down his chest as hard as she could. Faint, red lines instantly appeared on his chest, and although she knew this didn't hurt him in the slightest, she enjoyed doing it, and based on the way Bane let out a small sigh, she knew he had to enjoy it slightly too. He reached out and caught her wide hips in between his hands, and he squeezed on them, worsening the bruises that were already there, and Jenna flinched as she let out a gasp. Regardless, Bane continued to squeeze on them as he stared down fiercely at her pained expression, and just to add to the pain factor, he curled his fingers a little more before digging his own fingernails into her skin. Jenna let out a pained noise as she closed her eyes even tighter, fighting through the pain, but just before Bane could cause her to bleed, he moved his hands onto her tights before he pulled these apart as well.

"From now on," he began as he finished ripping the article from her body, and his eyes roamed over her black underwear before they quickly moved back up her body and onto her face. "You wear the standard uniform around here. If you fail to comply... there will be _severe consequences._"

Again, these words should have been absolutely terrifying, but they turned Jenna on even more, if that were even possible. As the pain started to fade from her body, she unclenched her eyes, but still kept them closed as her body swayed slightly closer to him. Bane understood she had taken his words to have a completely different meaning, but at the moment he didn't care. He placed his hands on her shoulders before he shoved her downward, and once she fell to her knees she immediately glanced up at him with wide, annoyed eyes.

"Take the boots off," he commanded, his fingertips still resting on her shoulders. Jenna stared at him for another few seconds before she swallowed and glanced down to his boots. The bottom of his cargo pants were tucked into the top of the boots, and her eyes roamed down to stare at the laces tied tightly on his right foot. She reached out quickly to start undoing them, and once they had been undone, Bane stepped out of the boot and waited for Jenna to proceed onto the other.

Once his boots were off, Jenna glanced back up to his face, and she stared into his eyes as she slowly rose from the ground. "Am I pressing my luck if I tell _you _to take my shoes off?" She bravely asked, watching wrinkles appear on the sides of Bane's eyes as he grinned slightly from beneath the mask, and he nodded. If there was one thing Bane did enjoy about these situations, it was how Jenna's confidence seemed to skyrocket.

Jenna was frowning. "Well I'm not your _subject_," she went on, a sour tone to her voice now. "Do something like that again and I'm out of here."

Bane laughed deeply, and he enjoyed the way Jenna's body tensed when he reached out to gently place his hands on the upper half of her arms. "You won't leave," Bane assured, able to easily see through her lie. "Besides," he went on, squeezing her arms now, applying more and more pressure with each passing second, and once he knew himself to be hurting Jenna, he grinned again. "You should always bow in the presence of greatness."

Jenna's lips parted, but as soon as they had Bane immediately turned her around and slammed her against the wall. Memories of their previous time were running through his mind, haunting and teasing him, but this time around, he wasn't entirely new to it anymore. Without hesitation, he let go of her arms and instantly took a hold of either side of her bra from the back. Jenna instantly made a noise of protest, her hands reaching over and behind her to take a hold of Bane's arms to dig her nails into, but it was already too late. She felt her bra fall free from her body, and after Bane had forced her to turn around and face him, her eyes flickered over to her bra as Bane carelessly dropped it to the floor. When her eyes returned to his, he saw that she appeared to be on the verge of great ferocity.

Suddenly, all Jenna wanted to do was get him back, but she knew this was a near impossible task. Her eyes dropped down to his belt without warning, and a daring idea formed in her mind. All she wanted now was to take the belt off, not only for her sake, but because she knew if she could manage to take it off, it would bother Bane severely. Perhaps it was a horrible idea, but at the moment Jenna didn't care. She wanted to prove to Bane that she wasn't just some mindless puppet. She was just as much a part of this as he was, regardless in which way. She studied it for a fast moment, her eyes wandering all over the belt, and she noticed three main straps and buckles that more than likely tightened to hold the belt on him. Without warning, she suddenly reached out to begin unfastening the buckle in front, and once she had this undone she immediately proceeded onto the buckle at his left. Her actions alarmed Bane, but regardless, his body would not allow him to do anything about it as she worked. He stared down at her face, molded into an expression of determination, and the only action his body would allow him to do was press her even harder against the wall. The wall was cold and uncomfortable against her body, but Jenna fought through it, and once her shaking fingers had managed to undo the left buckle, she instantly moved onto the right.

Just when Bane felt the entire belt become incredibly loose on his hips, he immediately dragged Jenna away from the wall and spun her around toward the bed. But as soon as he had, he felt the belt fall to his feet, and he paused, lowering his head and his gaze to glare at her smirking face.

"What? You think taking that off is an accomplishment?"

"I _know_ it is," Jenna retorted sternly, that smirk never leaving her face. She could see it in his eyes. That belt was something he rarely took off, and she knew she had to have been the first person in history to have ever undone it for him. Bane let out a low and steady growl as he stepped out of it, and he closed his eyes when he felt Jenna run her fingertips down his fully exposed stomach. She stared at it, watching her hands move down the muscles, immensely enjoying the feel of them, and once she reached the top of his pants, she paused for a moment, hesitating. Bane had closed his eyes, but when he felt Jenna stop he snapped his eyes open to glare at her.

"Well don't stop now," he said at a higher volume. "You were on such a roll."

Jenna frowned, cursing to him in her head. From beneath her closed lips, she clenched her jaw tightly as she absentmindedly began to pull the sweat pants down. Quickly, Bane grew impatient with her slow and suddenly nervous actions, so he reached down to finish the deed himself, and as he did, Jenna instantly began to take her own underwear off as she struggled to get out of her shoes, not ready for Bane to destroy either one of them.

Just as she had kicked her shoes away from herself and tossed her underwear behind her, Bane grabbed her arm, and she jumped as he pulled her toward him just as he got on his bed to lay down on his back. Any rational thoughts had left her completely, as well as self control, and before Jenna could stop herself she climbed on top of his naked body, straddling him. Bane was staring up at her, and when his eyes met hers, he knew she was thinking the same thing she was. Why were they being so much more... calmer, and gentler this time around?

Jenna removed her gaze from him and allowed her eyes to wander down his chest and over his stomach. But once her eyes reached his hips, she paused. She had only even seen his hips once, but the majority of them had been covered by sweat pants. Now, completely bared, she couldn't take her eyes off of them. Thick bones protruded upward, leading down to his muscular thighs, and Bane watched her lick her lips as she stared, her eyes slowly roaming downward. He couldn't help but to grin, his eyes sliding closed, but as soon as they had, he suddenly felt Jenna lift her body before she slowly lowered herself back on top of him. She let out a low, delicious moan as she continued to lower herself, feeling Bane fill her up more and more, and once he had entered her as far as her body would allow, slight pain spreading through her pelvis, Bane's own lips parted while Jenna slid her own eyes closed, slowly. She bit her lip as she slowly started raise her body back up, and Bane lowered his eyes to her thighs, and he watched the muscles there tense as she held herself up with ease. He reached out, and his finger tips slowly traveled up her legs, sending shocks up her legs that tickled her lower back. Jenna groaned again, the pleasurable feeling strong and inviting, but once Bane realized how rather gentle and calm they were still being, he dug his nails into her skin before he suddenly slammed his hands down onto her hips. Jenna's eyes shot open, and she let out a gasp when he forced her back down onto him, hard. Her face distorted into a look of pain as a mix of pain and pleasure flowed throughout her just as Bane had lifted his gaze back up to stare at her, and when he began to speak, Jenna forced her eyes open.

"You wanted this," he reminded her slowly in a slight grumble, his glare heavy and intent. "Don't back down because it hurts."

Jenna swallowed, but his words sent not only annoyance, but determination throughout her. She hardened her glare before she slowly started to raise her body off of him again, determined to prove to him that _he_ wanted this just as badly as she did as his fingertips slid from her body. Never breaking away from his dark eyes, once only the tip of him was inside of her, she began to move her hips in slow, tight circles. Bane's body relaxed, and she watched, amused, as he lowered his head to rest on the pillow, emitting a prolonged sigh as he did so. She couldn't help but to grin deviously as she continued with the movement, the feeling wonderful for her, but torturous for Bane. Jenna may have the power of pleasure and teasing, he knew, but he had the advantage of inflicting pure pain if she didn't do what he wanted. As Jenna continued to move in circles, Bane finally lifted his head, and he placed his hands back onto her wide hips before he slammed her down onto him again. Jenna let out a pained grunt, piercing pain spreading throughout her body again while Bane sighed, the action spreading pleasure throughout him.

"This can either be gratifying to you, as well, or it can turn into a nightmare," Bane threatened when Jenna opened her eyes. "Do not tease me."

Jenna grit her teeth as the pain started to fade, and she held his eye contact. "Fuck you."

"You're attempting to," Bane answered. "But you are currently failing."

Jenna's lips parted at his words, and she was unsure of whether to laugh or cry. But a short second later, a small snort of laughter escaped from her as an unwanted grin spread onto her lips. So Bane had humor... who knew?

"Fine," she finally purred. "But you asked for it." She leaned over suddenly, Bane's dick never exiting her, and he waited as she leaned in closer to him. He could feel her breasts against his chest, and Jenna's grin widened when he let out a small groan when she started to raise her hips up and down quickly with ease. His eyes closed as he leaned his head back against the pillow again, and as soon as he had, he felt Jenna's lips on him. Starting from his collarbone, she slowly licked her way up to where his ears sat behind his mask, and Jenna felt his body tense. Grinning still, she began to move her hips back and forward, hard and fast, before she clamped her teeth down on his neck. Bane's hands found her body again, and Jenna groaned when he squeezed on her hips, aiding her movements to become even faster while he began to slowly lift his own hips up and down. Jenna released her grip from his neck to rest her head against the curve where his shoulder met his neck, and she let out a loud moan. Bane could feel her hot breath against his skin, and this drove him to squeeze on her hips even harder and force her movements to become even faster while he quickened his own.

Eventually, Jenna was full-on panting over him as she moved her hips back and forth as fast as she could. His arms stretched out as far as they could go as he kept his hold on her, Jenna could feel his fingertips digging into the sides of her ass as she continued to fuck him, her eyes closed tightly, her breath exiting in short, exasperated spurts. Nothing but concentrated pleasure filled her entire body, and she felt as if she were floating as she continued on. As he rested his head on the pillow, Bane's eyes remained closed while he enjoyed the feel of Jenna's wet and tight pussy moving back forth on him while he moved in and out of her, and his lips parted as he felt his finish approaching. Jenna clutched the blanket on either side of her as she felt her own approaching, and when Bane squeezed on her ass even harder, she groaned loudly before she made herself move even faster on him. His bed barely made a sound as she continued, and once a warm feeling started to spread throughout her pelvis region, her body tensed before she began to come. She cried out as her orgasm took a strong hold of her, a tingling feeling spreading throughout her body, and as soon as this happened Bane felt himself finish as well. He absentmindedly squeezed on her ass nearly as hard as he could, and his body slowly began to cease movement as he emptied himself into her.

Once it was over, Jenna's body felt completely numb. She struggled to catch her breath as she listened to Bane's heavy breathing as well, and as she started to loosen her grip on the blankets, Bane started to slowly loosen his grip on her. She barely felt his calloused fingertips sliding slowly from her body, but once she heard his hands hit the bed on either side of them, she finally pulled herself off of him before rolling over to lay next to him on the bed. Bane's eyes were closed, but he could hear and feel what she did, but at the moment, much to his dismay, his own body had begun to feel numb, and he was much too tired to do anything about it. _Two minutes_, he told himself. _Two minutes until I force her to leave..._

Laying on her side, her head barely resting on the edge of Bane's pillow, she opened her eyes while she moved her leg over to shield her sensitive area, and she moved her arm up to hide what was exposed of her breast. She started up at Bane, watching his chest move up and down for a minute before she moved her eyes back onto the profile of his face. She started at the valves on the mask, the dim lighting reflecting off of them, and new thoughts began to haunt her mind. She found it unbelievable how easily sex the second time around had been initiated, though at the same time, she realized that she had completely abandoned the original, real question she had wanted to ask him.

"Bane?" Her frail voice cut through the silence, and Bane couldn't help but to open his eyes. Had he ever heard her speak his name like that before? He waited silently for her to go on, and once Jenna figured she had his attention, she did. "Can I ask you what I originally wanted to before?"

A moment passed before he finally answered her. "I suppose."

"Why did you choose me... to take?" She forced herself to ask, hating how obvious her curiosity was. The room fell silent again as she waited for an answer, and as the time went by, she began to fear that she would not receive one.

"Because you were an idol to the city's reconstruction. You were the daughter of Gotham's new heroes, and Gotham's finest piece of gossip. Surely, taking and killing you would send the message I wanted to them receive, loud and clear, and force them to undergo step one of my... plan."

His words sent chills throughout her, but she realized quickly that had merely been his plan in the _beginning_. He hadn't killed her, therefore Gotham never received the message, and the first step of his plan had failed. Did he realize that? "So," Jenna began again slowly, hoping not to upset him with a another, curious question. He had referred to her as being some very interesting things. She wondered what he thought of her to to be now, exactly. "What am I now?"

"Annoying," Bane answered in a sigh as he slowly began to sit up. "And yes, that _is _your cue to leave."

Jenna surprised him by giving in easily. "Okay," she replied evenly, and Bane listened to her get off of his bed. She appeared in front of him a few seconds later, and he watched her pick up her underwear before sliding them on. His eyes roamed over her body as she went about collecting her clothes, but once she had used the mound of them to shield the front of her body, he became uninterested in her actions, and he glanced away before bending down to pick up his own clothes. Jenna said nothing as she reached out to slowly open the door, but after she had peered outside to make sure the basement was clear, she stole a quick glance at Bane before leaving. A shock ran up her spine and stung her heart, however, when her eyes had met his, for he had been looking at her again, and in a small fit of panic, she quickly stepped out of his room and instantly scurried to her own room, not bothering to close his door behind her.

* * *

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**


	13. Trust

All good things must come to an end, or so Jenna was learning. After a rather successful night with Bane, Jenna had returned to her room and quickly dressed in a t-shirt and new underwear before she climbed into her cot. Not even five minutes after being out of Bane's room, her eyes were heavy, her was body was tired and weak, and her actions were slow and prolonged. Her night with Bane had left her body sore and exhausted, like the previous time, but like the last time, it left her feeling rather relaxed, light, and majorly content. She didn't entirely enjoy the fact that these feelings were brought on by the beast, but she figured that she might as well enjoy them while they lasted.

Despite how uncomfortable the cot was, Jenna had fallen asleep with ease, and she had entered a deep sleep within minutes. She barely tossed or turned, and she knew that for the first time in a while she would feel completely rejuvenated when she was to rise the next morning. But unfortunately for her, Bane had other plans...

He had entered her room quietly the following morning, but his next actions would be anything but quiet. On the surface he was angry and peeved, but deep down, he felt just as content as Jenna had. His body felt relieved, stronger, and, although he wasn't particularly thrilled that the bratty, indecisive beauty had been the one to bring this on, like Jenna he figured he might as well enjoy it. These feelings were, after all, completely new to him.

Jenna's black hair was spilled around her on her pillow, masking her face, and Bane's eyes traced the contour of her body from under the blanket. Once he reached the cot, his eyes returned to her head, her face facing the wall, and he immediately lifted his foot to place on the side of the cot.

"Wake up!" He called loudly as he forcibly tipped over the cot, and as he watched the mess of Jenna, the pillow and blankets crash against the floor, he heard her gasp loudly at her rude awakening.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jenna complained as she immediately sat up on the floor, not noticing yet that her legs and underwear were completely bared as she pushed back her hair from her face. She was quick to remember her cell phone, however, and panic instantly arose in her, waking her up further, as she tried to inconspicuously look for it. Bane, however, was staring down at her, completely taken back for a moment at her appearance, but when Jenna finally cleared her face, found that her cell phone was fortunately hidden from view from him, under where her pillow had fallen, and glanced up to glare at him, he quickly raised his eyes to look at her, Jenna knowing now that he hadn't seen or heard her phone. Jenna had seen what he had been looking at, and when she finally realized how cold her legs were suddenly, she knew why he had been staring. She shocked them both, however, when she didn't move to immediately cover herself. Instead, she forced back the smirk that desperately wanted to make itself known as she brought up her left knee before spreading her legs slightly. Bane had seen her do this as he kept eye contact with her, and he hated how he had to try extra hard not to acknowledge her actions.

"What?" Jenna finally asked a moment later when she realized her movement had failed to get his attention in the way her body absentmindedly desired. A shock had run up her spine, however, when she realized what she had tried to do in its full extent. She swallowed, but remained glaring at him, annoyed.

"You were to report to Karly's at nine o' clock this morning," Bane returned, and Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. Nobody had ever told her that. Was Bane accusing _her _for failing at something she had no idea about?

"What time is it now?" Jenna wondered.

"Nearly eleven," Bane answered. "Get up," he then added. "And get there fast to give her this." Jenna watched as he dropped another envelope in between her legs, and she felt her stomach drop when she practically felt his eyes travel up her body, wandering over her most sensitive area. Bane understood what she had been trying to do, and it gave him great satisfaction to know that Jenna understood now that she had failed. He glared into her eyes another few seconds longer before he turned to start toward her opened door.

"Hey," she said finally as she began to stand up, collecting the blankets as she did so, and when Bane turned around he saw that she was now shielding her lower half with the blanket mound behind the tipped cot. "This isn't my fault, you know. Nobody ever told me I had to be somewhere so early today." She had not enjoyed Bane's tone, or the way he had looked at her.

"I'm aware," Bane replied. "I told James to wake and inform you, but it seems as though he failed to fall through."

Jenna was shaking her head, and she let out a yawn before speaking. "I don't know who that is."

"In a few moments, nobody will anymore."

Jenna watched as Bane finally turned to leave, and she pondered his words for a few minutes. She gave up easily, however, and decided that she'd better get dressed and get going before Bane got even more annoyed.

After dressing in a new pair of cargo pants and a black tank top, and after tying her boots, Jenna ventured toward her door and stepped outside of it. She was surprised to see that Bane was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his vest, but she tried to ignore this as she let out another yawn. Bane watched her take her time with moving toward him while she yawned, and he watched her push back her hair from her face. He was smirking, but he waited to announce what was on his mind until after she had approached him and stopped.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked her patiently, a hint of playfulness mixed with seriousness laced in his tone. He watched Jenna's eyes to roll the left as she thought, but after a few seconds or so of waiting for her to remember, Bane sighed as he glanced away from her. "The envelope, Jenna."

"Oh, shit," she mumbled, turning instantly to head back to her room. She could feel Bane's eyes on her, and she felt her face reddening more and more the further from him that she got. She closed her eyes and shook her head to herself, hating that those feeling from last night were being carried over to last this morning. Bane had watched her shake her head to herself before she disappeared into her room, and he couldn't help but to grin as he glanced away again, fully aware as to why Jenna was seeming so forgetful and goofy, and fully aware that he was the only cause for it. He thought back to her actions when he had woken her up that morning, and he paused, a pang going through his heart, but once this happened, he immediately pushed the image of her spread legs from his mind.

Jenna had found the envelope on the floor behind the cot, and after she fixed the bed, placed the blankets and pillows on top, and hid her cell phone, she ventured back out of her room, hoping Bane would not say anything else about the situation to her. She knew she was acting like a retard, and all she could do was blame it on her body. Once she approached him, she handed him the envelope, and her eyebrows furrowed when he didn't take it. He stared into her eyes for a short moment before he finally leaned off of the wall, uncrossed his arms, and started up the stairs.

"I don't need it," he said now, Jenna following him. "That is for _you _to deliver to Ms. Treaffluw."

Jenna was frowning, and she felt her face redden all over again. Bane stopped on the stairs suddenly just when he had reached the top, and Jenna halted in her tracks just as suddenly before glancing up at him.

"Are you... _capable... _of doing this right now Jenna?" Bane asked seriously, but she watched the wrinkles appear on the sides of his eyes a second later when he grinned. "Because you're acting rather... _ditzy _right now."

Jenna glanced away from him. So he had noticed, and she knew the both of them understood why she was acting like this in the first place. "I'm fine," she mumbled, and when she heard Bane turn around, she glanced up at him. She may be acting stupid, but Bane was in a rather excellent mood it seemed. _Good_, she thought. She had gotten to him just as much as he to her.

She finally followed him up the rest of the stairs and out of the door, but she stopped immediately when a cold, harsh wind blew over her, and she immediately hugged her arms around herself. Bane had glanced over his shoulder, and he grinned with a shake of his head as he proceeded forward now.

"Don't you think it would be in your best interest to invest in a coat?" Bane asked her as he moved easily through the wind and toward the garage. He knew Jenna was right behind him, so he knew that she had heard him.

"You don't have a coat," Jenna accused as her eyes wandered over his bare arms, only his vest and belt covering his torso.

"I don't need one," Bane replied simply, and Jenna knew that was the end of the conversation. She knew she needed a coat, she just wasn't sure how she was supposed to go about doing so.

The Challenger and Isaac's truck were pulled outside of the open garage door, and Jenna noticed a few other henchmen hanging around inside. When they got closer, Jenna saw that Isaac was standing next to the work bench, and she stopped at the entrance of the garage while Bane proceeded inside. Isaac turned around upon hearing him come inside, and Jenna watched him remove a hand gun from a holster on his belt and hand it to Bane as he walked by without either of them saying a word. Jenna cocked an eyebrow at this, but a strong feeling of anticipation overtook her as she watched Bane venture a few more steps into the garage before he stopped and turned around.

"Where is James?" He wondered loudly, and Jenna's eyes wandered to the left when she heard footsteps. A short second later, a man wearing the same clothes as everyone else with a scruffy beard stepped forth, and Jenna noticed how nervous he looked.

"Y-yes Sir?" the man known as James asked once he approached Bane. By this time, Isaac had taken the Challenger keys off of the hook above the work bench, and he approached Jenna before handing them to her.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked quietly as she leaned over toward him slightly, and she took the keys from him. She expected Isaac to turn around and ignore her, but she grew confused when he actually leaned in to reply.

"Watch," he offered simply, and without another word he leaned away and stepped closer to the work bench.

"I told you to wake our prisoner this morning," Bane began to him. "Only to discover that you had failed to comply."

"I-I'm sorry, Sir, I became busy with-"

"Save the excuses," Bane interrupted sternly, and Jenna watched James swallow. "You failed to follow my orders."

"But it was just waking her up, I didn't think-"

"Around here you follow my orders, no matter how big or small. Now, you must be punished for your mistake."

"No, wait!"

Just after James had spoken these two words, Bane had already cocked and raised the gun to fire a single round into his heart. Jenna had flinched strongly at the boom that rang and echoed throughout the garage, and when she opened her eyes she watched James fall to the ground, a small pool of blood forming around him. She watched all the other henchmen back up slightly, but when Bane turned around, she saw that Isaac was firmly and carelessly holding his ground as Bane approached him. Again, no words were exchanged between the two when Bane handed him back the gun, and as if nothing ever happened, Isaac tucked the gun back into his holster. After Jenna had witnessed him do this, she glanced up just as Bane started past her.

"Deliver that to Karly," he told her again. "I don't think it is necessary to warn you what will happen if you don't."

Jenna shook her head as she clutched the envelope tighter, and as Bane started back toward the building, Jenna immediately started to the car.

Images of Bane shooting one of his men was still fresh in her mind as she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, the heat blasting on full through the vents. It had taken Jenna until she was turning off the car to realize that at some point, Isaac had installed carpet on the floor within the car. She paused once she took the keys from the ignition, and she leaned over toward the passenger side to get a better look. She couldn't help but to grin, excited to see that the interior of the car was finally starting to come to together. She frowned slightly a moment later, however, when she realized also that Isaac was probably not even making it look nice for her anymore, if he even had been in the beginning. Now, it was just a project he wanted to get finished.

Although the distraction of the carpet had ended on a bad thought, it had kept her mind off of Bane's murder for a few minutes. But now, as Jenna made her way toward the building, envelope in hand, the images returned, picture perfect, to her mind. James had _barely _messed up; all he had failed to do was wake somebody up. Was that really enough for a death sentence? No wonder Bane's men were so uptight and always jumped on the opportunity to perform the duties the _millisecond _they were assigned. Apparently, life at the warehouse and living under Bane's control was better than death...

Jenna swallowed. If it was so easy for Bane to kill someone due to one _miniscule _mistake, then Jenna should have been shot and killed nearly fifty times by now. The thought made her shudder as she neared the hotel's main door. She had taken tones with him, she had disobeyed him, she gone behind his back, she had tried to escape, she had lied to him, she had bravely done things nobody else would have ever dreamed of doing to him. Why wasn't he killing her? What made her so special?

It was a question Jenna knew she'd never receive answers to. But regardless, the thoughts were haunting, and they made her feel incredibly anxious. What did she do at this point due to realizing all of this? Did she continue to press her luck? Or did she just give in to everything Bane wanted, and strive to ignore him until he needed her? The last idea sent a strong, painful shock through her heart. She didn't want that. Her body didn't want that, and now, suddenly, her mind didn't want that. Besides, she wouldn't be herself if she stopped pressing her luck. The way she had been acting toward Bane since the beginning, the majority of the time, was just... _her_. She couldn't help it.

She had gotten this far, however. It would be silly to quit now and become some mindless clone. It appeared as though she had it better than everyone else around there. Maybe even better than Isaac. Bane practiced more patience with her than probably anybody else in his life. Jenna could get away with doing things that the other men probably never, ever could. Jenna shook her head, confused, as she pulled open the door.

A man was standing behind the counter, but as Jenna walked in, he barely paid attention to her. He had glanced up with bored, sleepy eyes, but when Jenna glanced at him from the corner of her eye as she continued toward the elevator, the man merely glanced back down to place his head back on his hand before continuing to read from his magazine. Jenna let out the breath she had been holding once she disappeared around the corner, and she waited for the elevator doors to open once she pressed the button.

Once she reached Karly's floor, she began the walk down the hallway as she stared at the envelope, reading Karly's name scribbled on the front. She was unsure if it was Bane or Isaac's handwriting, if it was even either of them, but her thoughts were instantly shattered when she heard Karly speaking on the other side of the door in her room.

_"Benji, I know. I'm leaving right now. Yes, I-"_

Karly paused, and Jenna leaned in closer to the door. _Leaving_? Jenna wondered. Who was Benji? Was Karly leaving to carry out Bane's plans... or was she going to do something else?

_"Benji! I'm literally going out the door, right now." _Karly's voice was directly next to the door now, but Jenna held her ground. _"A taxi, Ben, I don't care. I'll walk to the airport if I have to. Just tell Daddy he can expect the money and the weapons by next Friday. Because that's the best I can fucking do, Benji! God dammit!"_

Just then, the door was thrown open, and both Karly and Jenna jumped when they laid eyes on each other. Karly looked furious and nervous all at the same time, and as she stared at Jenna she could easily detect wary curiosity in her eyes. _Shit! _Karly cursed to herself.

"Ben, I'll call you when he gets here," Karly said blankly into the phone as she kept her eyes focused on Jenna. Jenna could hear a male voice starting to talk on the other end of the phone as Karly brought it away from her ear, but he was cut off when she hung up. Jenna thinned her lips as she crossed her arms, holding the envelope even tighter, and she waited until Karly had tucked her cell phone away in her pocket of her pinstripe pants.

"Where ya goin'?" Jenna asked her casually, but they both knew this meeting was about to be anything but casual.

"None of your damn business," Karly answered in a grouchy tone, her eyes dropping to the envelope. "Is that for me again? I swear, the way your people communicate is absolutely ridiculous. I was expecting to get _phone calls_. I'm sick of you showing up at my door."

Jenna was ignoring her. "Where are you going?" She asked more sternly, finding herself growing impatient.

"None of your business," Karly repeated in the same tone. "Give me the envelope."

"No," Jenna said as she took a step back, and she uncrossed her arms before holding the envelope away from Karly. "This isn't a vacation, you know. You're here to help one person, and you're to follow his complete orders no matter what." Jenna swallowed. "Or else," she added, thinking back to James.

"Look at you," Karly said now with a small smile as she tilted her head to the side. "The hostage thinks she has everything figured out. You don't know what his plans are, you don't know _why _I'm here, and you don't know what he said I could and couldn't do."

Jenna found herself getting angry at that word. "You may be right," Jenna began in a sassy tone. "But I know Bane would hate to know that you're going off and doing your own things, when you have a job to focus on." Again, Jenna had to wonder where the fuck all of this was coming from. Whenever she was around Karly, her mouth just spewed these tactical, serious words. "What money and weapons, exactly, are you sending _Daddy?_" Jenna asked now. "That doesn't sound like something Bane would have arranged." She had dropped her voice several octaves.

Karly swallowed. So Jenna had heard that. _Fuck_. Her glare hardened suddenly, and her own lips thinned as she took a step toward Jenna while closing the door behind her at the same time. Her body and face a little over two inches away from Jenna's, both women held their ground as they glared fiercely into each others eyes. "That is none of your concern," Karly began quietly, her voice just above a whisper. "You'd be smart to go back to Bane, and worry about your own damn self. Now, if you'd excuse me." She reached out suddenly to snatch the envelope out of Jenna's hand, and she gritted her teeth when she felt the paper leave her grasp. "I have somewhere more _important _to be."

Without another word, Karly started past her, purposely bumping her shoulder into Jenna's, and once her body had collided with hers, Jenna instantly turned to face her, her fists clenching as she watched her storm down the hallway. In her previous life, Jenna never took to anyone doing that. But now, she was rendered useless as she watched Karly disappear around the corner, for she knew Bane would not approve of Jenna acting out toward his hired help. But how helpful was Karly really? Weapons? Money? Jenna shook her head as she started down the hallway to herself. Now, it was time to go back to Bane and prove her loyalties all over again...

–

The warehouse was empty when Jenna parked the car outside of the closed garage, and after taking the keys from the ignition and stepping out of the car, she openly shivered as she locked it. Clutching the keys in her hand, she headed over toward the exit door, and she rushed up the stairs, desperate to get inside. The building was warm, but Jenna knew the basement would be cold, and sure enough, as she descended the stairs, the further she got into the basement the more the temperature began to drop.

The basement, as per usual lately, was empty, but Bane's door was wide open. Swallowing, Jenna started over toward it, and once she approached it she blankly left a few knocks on the frame. After she had, however, she leaned in slightly, her eyes scanning the room, and she realized quickly that it was empty. Her eyebrows furrowed, but right when she turned around her body nearly collided with Bane's. He had approached her from behind, and he watched Jenna jump back with a start before she glared up at him.

"Where did you come from?" Jenna wondered in a somewhat rude tone as she slapped her hand against her racing heart. Bane ignored this.

"I was over there," he answered as he jerked a thumb toward the open area of the basement. "Your lack of observance may prove to be a serious problem in the future. Did you give Karly the envelope?"

"Yeah..." Jenna answered slowly. "Um... about that-"

Bane instantly rolled his eyes as he stepped past Jenna to enter his room. Jenna frowned at his actions, but she tried to ignore them as she followed him into his room, figuring Bane would not grow upset at this.

"Seriously," Jenna said. "I think she's planning on... robbing you."

"Robbing _me_?" Bane repeated loudly as he turned away from his desk to stare down at her, and Jenna could see the amusement in his eyes.

"Seriously," Jenna said again. "She said-"

"Jenna," Bane started in a much calmer tone. "You have to realize, it is near _impossible _to take anything from me. And you think that some petite, red-head is capable? Have you not learned anything around here?"

"Bane, please," Jenna said now as she absentmindedly took a step further into his room and closer to him. "Just fucking hear me out," she added, only to back down a moment later when she saw Bane's eyes harden. "I think this is serious."

Bane sighed. "Alright, Jenna." Why was he giving in so easily? "Tell me what's on your whimsicalmind."

Jenna's frown deepened as she glared at him. She watched Bane step toward his bed and slowly sit down, and once he had folded his arms on his lap, he glanced up at her with a tilted head, sarcastic and false interest written all over him. So, he was still in a good mood, and he was practicing just as much patience with her as always; this was good, but Jenna was too distracted to take too much notice.

"When I got there Karly was leaving to go to the airport," Jenna began, but much to Bane's dismay, this had taken him by great surprise and interest. His eyebrows furrowed.

"The airport?" He repeated. "How do you know this?"

"She was on the phone, and I heard her talking to somebody named Benji about taking a taxi – or walking – to the airport. Then, she said he'd call him back when somebody got there. I think she's going there to pick somebody up who's flying in."

Bane was nodding. Unfortunately, this information did seem pretty vital, if Jenna was even telling the truth. But why else would she be so quick to rush in and tell him all of this? She couldn't hate Karly enough to make up lies, could she? "And you think she's recruiting help to steal from me?"

"She told Benji to tell her father that 'he could expect the money and the weapons by next Friday'."

Jenna watched Bane glance away from her, and he stared at the wall in thought. She waited, unable to help but to feel slightly anxious. When Bane finally glanced back at her, she waited for him to speak, but her anxious feeling grew stronger when he stood up suddenly before taking a step closer to tower over her. He glared directly into her eyes as Jenna stared up at him, and although she just wanted to melt away, she forced herself to keep her ground.

"You're not _lying _about any of this, are you?" Bane asked in a deep and very serious tone. His voice sent a wave of goosebumps to appear on her skin, and as she listened to Bane breathe in the silent room, her head began to spin. She started to shake her head.

"No," she replied. "Of course not."

"Because I have a difficult time believing that you just _happened _to approach her at the _perfect _time to overhear all of this. This may be a serious issue, Jenna."

"I know," Jenna replied after she had swallowed, feeling herself start to fidget under Bane's glare. She took a small step back, but she felt even more lightheaded when Bane took a large step even closer to her. "I'm not lying, I swear."

"Because if I go after her for something that is based entirely off of a lie-"

"I'm _not _lying," Jenna replied in a slightly sterner tone. "I'll take you to the hotel right now. She won't be there. I'll take you to the airport and-"

Bane was shaking his head. "I need to know I can trust you, Jenna," Bane went on now.

"Y-you can..." Jenna replied in a small voice, feeling herself getting smaller and smaller under the weight of Bane's glare.

"Trust is everything around here," Bane was going on, and Jenna couldn't help but to instantly think back to her cell phone. But it was as if Bane could read her thoughts, for the second Jenna began to feel nervous all over again about her phone, Bane was bringing it up. "Can I trust you, Jenna?"

"Yes," she replied weakly. Bane narrowed his eyes on her.

"Your cell phone," he began, and he watched Jenna's eyes widen slightly. "Did you _really_ dispose of it?"

Jenna struggled not to swallow, for she knew doing so would give her away. "Yes." The room was spinning faster than ever now.

"All I have is your word on the two situations. If I find out that you are, or have been lying to me..." he paused, and he shook his head slightly a moment later. "It will be the end of you. Am I clear?"

Jenna felt her body starting to shake as she barely nodded her head. "Crystal," she said as she finally started to glance down and away from him. Bane remained watching her for a minute longer before he finally backed up and turned to head out of his room. Jenna listened to him go, and once she heard him start up the stairs she finally let the breath she had been holding go.

–

Bane's discussion with her had left her feeling anxious and worried. With both of the times he had brought up the topic of her cell phone, he made it seem as though he _knew _that she had lied to him. But how would he know? Jenna was sure to have checked it secretly and during a time she was mainly sure she would not be interrupted, and she had gone this long with keeping her secret... Besides, why the fuck would Bane give her the responsibility of getting rid of it? _Maybe he wants to trust me... _Jenna thought slowly to herself. But did that make sense?

If this thought had come up days ago, Jenna would have laughed at herself and ridiculed herself for even thinking such a stupid, la-la-land thought. But now, it sort of made sense, didn't it? With everything that had been happening between her and Bane lately, maybe he actually did want to trust her. She had, somehow, managed to get past being considered a hostage (regardless if Bane still called her that or not), and now Bane was assigning her with tasks to further his plan, whatever it was. Because of this, Bane would want to trust her. But when had this all happened? _Why _was it happening?

Jenna sighed frustratedly to herself as she rolled over onto her stomach on the cot. Why was Bane so interested in her? And even worse, why was she so interested in him? She closed her eyes as she stretched her arms out under her pillow, but she paused immediately when her hand wandered over her cell phone. Her eyes snapped open, and she stared blankly at the pillow. Bane always made her nervous when he brought up the issue of her phone; wouldn't it make sense to just _really _get rid of it? If she did, that would completely eliminate a factor of anxiousness in her life.

But did Jenna want to him to trust her? Did she want Bane to see her as somebody who, like Isaac, would never go behind his back or against him? Did she even want to be that type of person to him? She bit her lip as her fingers found the 'on' button, and she didn't release her lip until after she had kept her finger pressed on the button for a little over five seconds. Whether she wanted Bane to have her trust or not, Jenna just didn't want to be punished for lying, or deceiving. She had seen what happened to two of Bane's men for doing so... death over a cell phone was not how she wanted to go out.

But she just _couldn't_. She couldn't get rid of her cell phone, she realized, as she just barely pulled it out from under the pillow enough to see the majority of the screen. She waited, and sure enough, after a few seconds had gone by, her phone began to buzz to life. Missed calls and unread text message notifications filled the screen, and she knew they were all from Rodger. A pang went through her entire body, and upon hearing footsteps out in the basement, she immediately moved to turn the phone off and stick it back under the bed. It was a risk, but clearly, it was a risk Jenna was willing to take. Having some sort of contact with the outside world, just in case for what ever reason, helped her, or so she thought.

Frowning, she rolled over on her cot, that bored, lonely feeling starting to creep up on her again. Deep down, she felt as though she _wanted _Bane to trust her, but why? Sadly, she was quick to figure out it was not because she was scared of what would happen to her if he did not. She legitimately wanted him to trust her, all because she wanted to trust him.

_ How fucking sick_, Jenna thought sourly to herself. Why did she want to trust him? Did she already trust him? What, exactly, did she trust him with? She may have hated her life before, but she never was she forced to contemplate such deep, puzzling questions, aspects, and feelings.

And why was it so hard to figure out how she _felt, _sitting by herself, yet it was so easy for her to have sexual relations with the mad man who had brought all of this upon her? How did that make sense? _It doesn't_, Jenna thought to herself. _I'm just fucking stupid. That's all there is to it. I need to stop..._

But could she? _No_. Jenna thought. It was silly to even consider forcing herself to stop when she was already starting to want him, just by sitting silently in her dark room, thinking about him. The only thing Jenna knew about all of this was that it just wasn't fair.

She heard more footsteps out in the basement, and she held her breath when she listened to them grow closer and closer to her door, the noise getting louder and louder. She kept her eyes closed as she hugged her pillow to herself, and when she heard somebody open the door, she already had a good idea of who it was.

"You know," came Bane's metallic, muffled voice through the dark, dim light flooding into the room from behind him. "When I mentioned you leaving my room the other night to go sit alone in the dark, I had not meant for you to take that literally, at any point."

Jenna couldn't help but to grin, and Bane didn't miss the small breath of laughter that escaped from her. But all amusement was instantly lost. "Why do you care?" Jenna retorted.

"Always with the negativity. You should understand, Jenna, not everybody who approaches you has the goal of judging you, or forcing you to do something you don't want."

Jenna opened her eyes, and she couldn't help but to furrow her brow in slight confusion. "I never said that."

"Your _tones _speak louder than any combination of words that _mindlessly _spew from your mouth," Bane accused. "It's a bad trait that you possess."

Jenna rolled her eyes before closing them. What was she doing? Not even ten seconds ago she was admitting to herself how she was beginning to want him again, and secretly hoping she could find a way to go to him, yet here she was, opportunity standing not even fifteen feet from her, and she was struggling to shut him out. Why couldn't she just act the way she felt?

"What do you want, then?" She asked sourly, completely regarding her previous thoughts. Her body ached, but her mind was in charge of the game currently. "Me to come _bother _you again?"

Bane sighed, his mouth already opening to speak before he could stop himself. "The invitation is open. I have to talk to you."

Jenna's eyes opened again. _Seriously? _

"When you're done _pouting _in the dark, I'll be waiting."

Jenna listened to Bane turn away from her room and start for his own, and her heart began to race. He was inviting her to his room? Again, after the tone she had taken with him? What was with that? And even more so, what was with her even speaking to him like that in the first place?

_Who cares_, Jenna thought. That was just how she was. Maybe it made sense, and maybe it didn't, but it seemed to be something that Bane was accepting. She was happy to have an invite for some company again, but what did Bane want to talk to her about? _Shit... _

After exiting her room, she approached Bane's open door slowly, and she paused when she had reached it. She glanced in, and she grew slightly wary when she saw that it was empty. The lighting inside was dim, casting eerie shadows all over the place, and she noticed the blankets on his bed were all messed up, making it seem as though he had just gotten out of bed. She swallowed as she glanced over her shoulder, wondering if it would be okay to go inside without him. He had invited her, but why wasn't he in there? If he had wanted her to meet him somewhere else he would have said so. Finally, a short moment later, Jenna forced herself to take a step inside, figuring it was okay. Bane had already given her dozens of second chances anyway... what was one more?

His room seemed... bigger... without him inside of it. Her eyes wandered all over his furniture and belongings, the same questions running through her mind as before as she stared at the syringe needles on the dresser and the colorful boxes behind the side of his bed, where she usually laid down before getting kicked out. As she approached his desk, her eyes instantly dropped down to the various pieces of paper on it, and she glanced over her shoulder and out of his room into the rest of the basement. It was empty and silent, and because of this, she couldn't help but to turn and glance back down to the desk. In the center, a large map of Gotham covered the surface, and upon leaning in, Jenna saw the circles she had listened to him continue to make the night before all over the map. Studying the paper further, she saw that he had circled all of the police stations, big and small, within each island that made up the entire city. Her eyebrows furrowed, but rather than standing there and pondering why, her eyes roamed to the left, wandering over all sorts of other pieces of paper that had been written on, until a strong shock ran up her back. Sitting underneath a newspaper, she saw a black and white photo of herself, and she couldn't help but to reach out and pick it up.

It was a picture of her and her parents, and she remembered the exact day that had been taken. It was when she and her parents had still been considered new to Gotham, and when their charities were starting to turn things around. Her mother had forced her to wear that that God-awful dress –she remembered it fit her funny– and she recalled the persistent photographers. Her parents had been barely paying her any attention that day, but when the photographer mentioned desiring a nice, family photo of the three of them, her mother had grabbed Jenna and instantly threw her arm around her. In the photo, their smiles were wide, fake, and after the first couple of photos had been taken, Mia had scolded Jenna to smile. So Jenna had, but staring at the picture now, she saw how fake it was too. Nobody in that picture was happy. Especially her.

Her eyes dropped back down to the desk as she set the picture down, and she couldn't help but to shuffle around some of the other papers on the desk. Being alone in Bane's room was taking a toll on her; suddenly, she couldn't help but to snoop. Maybe she could discover something about him that he would be unwilling to tell her. But was that a bad idea?

Jenna paused her thoughts when she discovered an old newspaper sitting under the crinkled, random paper, and without thinking she brought it up, holding it with both hands. It was a picture of Bane, masses of people sitting behind him in what looked like a stadium, and it seemed as though this candid picture had been taken in secret. It was an article about him, probably written before Jenna and her parents had even heard of Gotham, but Jenna couldn't help but to notice the coat Bane was wearing. It was long and and somewhat light-colored, with what appeared to be wool or some alike material on the inside of the coat, and on the giant collars that flared upwards, nearly over his head. Her eyes narrowed as she studied the black and white picture, but she jumped a moment later when she heard footsteps behind her.

Bane had paused in the frame of his door, and his eyebrows had raised slightly once he laid eyes on Jenna. Jenna turned around instantly, her heart racing, and she was sure she was about to get in serious trouble. She anxiously waited for Bane to scold her, or step up and hurt her, but her anxiousness grew when Bane remained still, just staring at her.

"Discover anything fascinating?" He asked a moment later as he finally stepped into the room, and Jenna watched as he headed over to his bed.

"No," she answered. "Sorry, I-"

"Sorry?" Bane repeated. "For what?"

"For... looking through... all of this..."

Bane shrugged. "There's nothing... important on there." _Nothing important for _you_, at least._

Jenna stared at him blankly, and she felt lightheaded as she watched him start to take off his vest. She swallowed. Bane wasn't mad that she had been going through his things? How could that be?

"Why do you have that picture of me?" She wondered once Bane had set the vest down on the bed, and she struggled not to eye him up and down as he stepped over to her, clad in only his cargo pants, belt and boots. Thinking he didn't know what she was talking about, she instantly turned to find the picture again, but Bane was already speaking before he had laid eyes on it.

"Because I was studying you."

"Why?" Jenna asked, ridiculously curious suddenly.

"It helped me to decide if I want to... take you... or not."

"How?" Jenna pressed on as she stared down at the picture in her hands. "What's so special about this."

"A picture is worth a thousand words," Bane said as he pulled out the chair to his desk, and Jenna watched him slowly sit down. "That picture told me a lot about you, and your family."

"Like what?"

This was not what Bane wanted to talk to Jenna about. This small talk was unimportant here, but regardless, he found himself humoring her as he turned his chair to face her, and he rolled the chair closer to her. He leaned up slightly to look down at the picture with her, Jenna holding her breath all the while at his actions, and when she glanced down at him, he had glanced up at her. "You tell me. What do you see?"

Jenna glanced back down to the picture. "I see... that ugly dress I was forced to wear. And that stupid dress my mom wore that day to show off her fucking body, which is ridiculous because she's married. Those people back there, they wouldn't-"

"_No_," Bane said sternly, already shaking his head. "I didn't ask for a shallow answer. Do I look like I care about the choice of attire there? Your _face_, Jenna. Your expression. Your parent's expressions. What do they tell you?"

Jenna stared down at the picture again. "That I'm... unhappy?" Was this the right answer? Jenna knew she had been unhappy that day, but she was smiling in the picture. When her eyes wandered over to Bane, she saw he was nodding.

"Precisely."

"So, you took me because I was unhappy?"

"Yes," Bane replied. "And no. As I've told you before, I took you because you were a _symbol _to Gotham. Your unhappiness, as exposed in that picture and later verified by Barsad, told me that you'd be more than willing to do what I told you."

"I have a hard time believing that you're..." Jenna trailed off, realizing finally what she had begun to say, and she watched Bane go through the papers on his desk, hoping that he had not heard her.

"Smart? Deep? Perceptive?" Bane began to list, and when Jenna had grown silent, he stopped what he was doing to glance up at her. Her facial expression told him those were the exact words she was thinking. "Most people do. It catches them off guard."

Jenna glanced away, and she placed the picture back down onto the desk. Just when she had, her eyes found the picture of Bane and that coat again, and she picked up the photo. "What happened to this coat?" She wondered now as she held up the picture, desperate to change the subject, and she grew confused when Bane let out a small chuckle.

"You have the attention span of a two-year-old," he accused, his eyes wandering over the picture quickly. "And that coat was destroyed."

"How?"

"Trampled, by the masses of Gotham fighting on the streets," Bane answered. Jenna frowned. _Thank God I wasn't here for that... _Jenna thought to herself.

"Do you miss it?"

"The coat?" Bane clarified, glancing up at her, and when she glanced down at him he shrugged. "It did its job. I liked it." Jenna studied him, positive that he missed the coat more than he was letting on. While she figured this, however, realization of what they were talking about hit Bane like a ton of bricks, and he was quick to change the subject. "I received an interesting call from Karly today."

Jenna instantly felt annoyance bubbling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to hear what Karly had to say, and if this was what Bane wanted to talk to her about, then she most certainly did not want to hear what he had to say either. Jenna kept her eyes fixed on the photo of him, studying his figure in the coat and blankly wondering why he wore the collar like that. Bane had grown silent, and from the corner of her eye, Jenna could see, and feel, that he was staring at her, waiting for her to verbally acknowledge his comment.

"Oh yeah?" Jenna finally mumbled, absentmindedly bringing the picture a little closer to her face. Bane blinked slowly, his patience starting to deteriorate, but he struggled to hold onto what was left of it. Why was Jenna so willing to talk about a coat, but yet when an obviously important topic came to hand, she went right back to her childish ways? Bane was not going to have that. He let out a rough sigh as he reached out to snatch the paper from Jenna, and he noticed the way she jumped in surprise.

"Put the paper down," Bane was saying as he set it back down onto the desk. "Look at me, and _listen, _Jenna." By now, he had reached out to take a hold of her wrist, and she gasped when he pulled her closer to him. Jenna was frowning as she stared at him, but she could not ignore the butterflies that had started in the pit of her stomach due to his hand on her wrist. Bane was staring at her expectantly again, and Jenna rolled her eyes as she glanced away.

"What did she say?" She finally forced herself to ask.

"She specifically told me to stop letting _you _over to her hotel room."

Jenna couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped past her, and Bane watched her shake her head to herself.

"She told me that you hassle her, and lie to her, and she said that you don't make her feel like part of the _team_."

"Oh please!" Jenna exclaimed now, unable to help it, and she turned back to Bane with wide eyes. "Please tell me you're not buying into that sappy bullshit!"

Bane grinned, but he was sure to not let the expression touch his eyes. He saw that Jenna had grown nervous at her outbreak, but to Bane, it was redeeming. Wanting to play along, he closed his eyes and merely shrugged.

"I don't know, Jenna," he began, and he struggled not to smile widely when he saw how instantly angry she became at this, with her body tensing and eyes widening. "Around here, it's our goal to make everybody feel _needed_, and important."

_Is he joking?! _Jenna wondered agitatedly to herself. She shook her head as he looked away from him, and she struggled to free her arm from his grasp, but when she tried to pull it free, Bane tightened his grip, and Jenna gasped again when he pulled her even closer to himself. Jenna quickly caught her balance, and she swallowed as she stared into his eyes, his mask only a few mere inches from her face.

"And along with that," Bane was going on, his tone lighter now. "We want everybody to feel _safe_, and _special_. You don't agree?"

A grin slid onto Jenna's lips as realization hit her, and finally Bane smiled back, allowing this one to touch his eyes. So he was kidding, Jenna thought. _Thank fucking God_.

"No," Jenna finally said. "Well, maybe. But we want her to feel-"

Bane laughed, interrupting her. "I can only imagine, Jenna," he said, finally releasing her arm, but once he had, Jenna hesitated for a moment. Her body had not been ready for Bane to do that, but now, as he turned away from her, she forced herself to quickly lean back up. She sucked in a sharp breath as she leaned against the desk next to him, and she slowly and silently released it.

"She really said all that thought?"

"Yes," Bane replied with a nod. "Why do you hassle her?"

"I don't," Jenna defended. Had he forgotten already what they had talked about earlier? "She knows I'm on to her about whatever it is she's doing. She's always hiding something, and she's a fucking bitch me to me. And she calls me a hostage."

"Jenna," Bane began slowly, and he turned to glance up at her with amused eyes. "You _are _a hostage."

Jenna frowned, that frustrated look returning to her. "Not... as far as she knows," she replied.

Bane shook his head with a grin. "What do you lie to her about?"

"Nothing," Jenna replied, but when Bane slowly glanced back up at her, she knew she had given him a wrong answer.

"Why are you lying to _me_ then?" He asked now. Jenna sighed, and she glanced down.

"I'm not," she said in a softer voice. "I tell her that I know more about your plans than she thinks."

"Why?"

"So she see's me as someone to respect and listen to."

"You don't always gain respect by _lying_," Bane told her. "You must earn it. If you want Karly to respect you, you must demand it, and in turn, earn it. Not lie. Not in this case."

Jenna rolled her eyes. She didn't care if Karly respected her. Why had she said that. It was natural for her to drop the issue, but before she could desire this too much, she was already correcting herself. "I don't really mean... respect," Jenna said in that softer voice now, and she could still feel Bane's eyes on her. "I just _know _she's up to something, and I thought if I could make her believe that I wasn't a hostage, then I could... I don't know." She shook her head again as she crossed her arms, and she glanced away.

"Scare her into telling the truth? Push her to do something stupid more quickly so you could catch her? Unfortunately, it seems as though your plan has worked."

Jenna glanced back over to him as he looked back down to his desk. So he did remember what they had talked about, and it seemed as though he believed her about it too.

"You must really believe you're not a hostage."

Jenna knew it would probably be safer to disagree with him, but Bane had said he wanted to hear nothing but the truth from her, right? "I do," Jenna said, her answer catching Bane by slight surprise. "Hostages sit in a tiny room all day, and are tortured, and left to rot until death, unless the captor get whats they want." Bane could feel her staring at him now. "Around here, you have me actually going out and doing things to benefit you, which requires having some trust me in already. That's not hostage-like, and you know it."

Bane was quiet for a moment. Unfortunately, she was right. Just hours previously, he had referred to her as a hostage, but now he realized that was the wrong title entirely. She wasn't a hostage anymore. Come to think of it, was she ever? Bane ignored her last statement, and instead went on with what he wanted to say.

"I'm having some of my men check into your discovery," he said. "They've been following her, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. As far as you going to her apartment and _hassling _her," he paused to glance over at her. "There will be no more of that. Isaac, or somebody else can deliver messages to her."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, you're still trusting her to help you out?"

"I never said I trusted her, Jenna," Bane replied. "Right now, we need her. But once her duties have reached their end, she will too."

"You're going to kill her?" Jenna asked, her eyes wide.

"Yes," Bane replied simply. "Does that, _bother _you?"

Jenna immediately shook her head. "No," she answered. "Just... why?"

Bane sighed. "_Think, _Jenna. First of all, if she's planning on _attempting _to rob me, we can't let her efforts go unpunished, can we? And after all of this is... done... it would be a crime to let her go back to her father with knowledge of my operations. Do you understand?" He asked now in a tone that suggested she was a child. Jenna tried to ignore this.

"Yes," Jenna said as she looked down slightly. "That makes sense."

Bane could tell she was starting to feel stupid. "If you just _thought _before you speak, every time, you'd never ask a stupid question again, or say anything unintelligent," he advised, his words catching her off guard. She glanced back up at him, already knowing what she wanted to say, but before she knew it, she found herself taking his advice. Expressing a friendly '_fuck you' _was probably not a good thing to say right now.

"Okay," she answered simply, and her stomach dropped when she saw Bane to be grinning.

"See? You're smarter than you let on," Bane said now, knowing that she had just performed his very advice. "What were you going to say originally?"

Jenna was shaking her head. "Nothing," she said.

"Lies," Bane accused. "What were you going to say? Tell me."

When Jenna glanced back down at him, she saw that he was still grinning, and because of his currently amused state, she figured telling him wouldn't do so much harm. Besides, he had asked. "Fuck you," she replied, and she couldn't help but to smirk slightly.

Bane nodded. "Smart of you to take my advice," he praised. Jenna waited, expecting him to go on, or even make another joke over her choice of words, but he never did. "That is all," he said now, completely turned away from her now as he shuffled through the papers on his desk. Jenna backed up slowly, but she paused when she was only a step away from the desk.

"Can I stay in here?" She asked. This couldn't be considered a stupid question, she thought. She had thought about asking it, and she had forced herself to say it. Bane knew how lonely she got, sitting by herself, and as she waited for an answer, all she was hoping was that he would not get angry at her question. And even deeper down, she was sickly hoping that he would say yes.

"Not tonight," Bane replied in an even tone after thinking it through for a moment. Although he wasn't facing her, Jenna nodded, and without another word she turned to start out his room. She didn't shut the door, and when Bane heard her own door close, he paused suddenly as he leaned up to stare at the wall. Suddenly, his room felt cold, and empty, and he was forced to wonder if that had been the wrong answer to give...

**Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years celebration of some sort! Please leave me a review, and don't hesitate to add me on Facebook! (Lacey ClownQween Michele) **


	14. Eruption

**Be warned, sexual, sexy time lays ahead. If this _offends _you, then get the hell off my story. If not, then please enjoy :)**

The next week passed quickly for Jenna, and upon reflecting on it, she wasn't entirely sure if she was happy it had, or actually rather upset. She had fallen into a near constant routine at the warehouse. Every morning, if she wasn't woken up by somebody else, whether that was a personal experience or due to hearing people outside of her door, she would usually rise a little before noon. She would get dressed, and upon exiting her room, Bane would immediately hassle her with commanding her to go upstairs and eat something, if he was fortunate enough to see her when she first exited her room. Jenna knew she wasn't eating much, but she was never hungry. However, she always listened, and gave Bane satisfaction when she came back downstairs munching on something with a bratty scowl on her face.

Over the week, since Jenna 'wasn't allowed' to go to the hotel anymore, Bane hadn't assigned her one thing to do, which left Jenna sitting alone most of the day in her room, and it was starting to take a toll on her more than ever. She found herself venturing outside to smoke more often, but she never made it through more than half a cigarette before she became too bored with this, as well, and mainly too freezing cold. She saved her half-smoked cigarettes, nonetheless and would tuck them away into her pack to smoke later. Every time she went back outside, however, she would always light up a new one, vowing to smoke the entire thing, though this had failed to happen thus far.

One night during the middle of the week, she had hidden herself from view under her blankets on the cot and checked her phone, scrolling through the missed call list to clear the notifications and reading the messages from Rodger. With each text message, he grew more and more nervous, until he bluntly admitted he was scared, and begged her to reply again. Jenna desperately wanted to, but she didn't allow herself to. _All_ she wanted to do was remind him that she was okay, and not tell him anything that could help her with an escape. This frightened her more than anything. She didn't want to escape anymore? Why? Wouldn't anything on the outside be better than how she was living now? Once this thought had entered her mind, she was forced to re-evaluate her feelings for Bane. And once deep thoughts about him clouded her mind, she had a hard time thinking about anything else for the rest of the night.

He wasn't around the basement too much during the week, and when Jenna ventured through it and upstairs to go outside, she would peek into his room and notice it was empty. She saw that his desk was still filled with all those papers, though the large map of Gotham was no longer on it. Every time she wandered through the basement, she found herself hoping she'd run into him, just so she could look at him. During the week, she decided that looking was not a crime, for if she did so secretly, only she would know, and it would be easier to forgive herself. Although Bane's nagging her to eat something in the morning was rather annoying, at least she had the opportunities to look at him, and maybe even try and talk to him. But as per usual, the nasty attitude that took her over instantly squandered any opportunity of doing so. For the second she mumbled something rude or uncaring to him, Bane would halt any progression to conversation.

"You're up late," Bane had commented during the beginning of the week when Jenna ventured out of her room for her morning cigarette. "There's food upstairs. I suggest you go partake in getting some."

"Okay," Jenna had mumbled, deciding instantly in her mind that she wasn't going to actually. But as she ascended the stairs, she couldn't help but to glance over her shoulder, and her stomach dropped when she saw that Bane had stepped over to stand in the middle of the bottom of stairs and watch to ensure that she listened. With a roll of her eyes, Jenna grabbed a chocolate muffin, and she glared down at Bane as she took a small bite before disappearing outside of the exit door.

"Again with the late rising," Bane had commented the following morning, standing near the corner of the stairs with his arms crossed. That day, he had been wearing a tight, black t-shirt, and Jenna felt lightheaded as she openly stared at him while she started toward the stairs. Deep down, she was hoping Bane wouldn't force her to eat again, but on the surface she was too busy admiring his rock-solid body beneath the shirt that hugged him in every ideal spot to worry about it. "Are you going to grab something to eat, or do I have to ensure that you do again?"

"I'm not hungry," Jenna had said back in a low voice, annoyed that Bane had noticed her staring.

"That's irrelevant," Bane had responded as Jenna started past him up the stairs. "Eat something, or you won't like what happens if you don't."

Jenna sighed loudly as she moped up the stairs, but sure enough, when she had glanced over her shoulder, Bane was glaring up at her again, waiting for her to listen. Her stomach clenching, she grabbed a banana, and this time she tried her best not to look down at Bane as she stepped outside for a cigarette.

It was fortunate that Bane was not around on the third day, (though it was unfortunate that Jenna found herself starving later that night) but the day after, on the fourth day of the week, Bane was waiting at the bottom of the stairs again, clad in his vest, a piece of paper in his hand. Jenna had woken up later that morning, and she found herself more grouchy than usual as she blankly started toward the stairs, already knowing what to expect from Bane.

"You seem to wake later and later each day," Bane commented as he watched her advance, and when his eyes wandered down her body, he saw that she hadn't tucked her cargo pants into her boots, the bottoms of the pants bunched up lamely at the top of her boots, just under her knees. "Your lack of consumption and poor sleeping habits with prove to take a toll on your body sooner than later. It appears as though they already have."

"Whatever," Jenna had mumbled to him, though what she had meant to say was: 'go to hell.' Bane's voice had never failed to send shivers up her spine, and all week it appeared as though he was in a rather good mood every time they first saw each other. But Jenna's never failing negativity always got in the way of her true desires. She had started up the stairs, only to stop instantly when Bane reached out with cat-like reflexes to grab her wrist firmly.

"Do you know to eat something by now, or do I have to remind you, again?" He asked, his gaze hard and cold as he stared into her tired eyes. Jenna stared back, her heart racing due to the intensity of his glare and the feel of his fingers around her frail wrist. It was the perfect moment to clean up her act, grab something to eat, and join him back downstairs in an effort to talk to him, like she had been seriously starting to desire by that time, but when she opened her mouth, she failed the opportunity.

"I'm not stupid," she told him sternly. "If you don't let go," she started a moment later. "Then I can't go get something to eat, now, can I?"

Bane had lowered his head slightly to deepen his glare on her. "Watch it, girl," he growled to her, a shock running up her spine. He had never called her 'girl' before. "One more comment like that, and you'll be physically unable to eat again."

Jenna raised her eyebrows expectantly at him as she pulled her wrist free, though what she had meant to say was: 'I'm shaking in my boots, asshole.' After she had grabbed a cold slice of pizza, she knew it was an incredibly smart move to have not said that to him as she stepped outside.

On the fifth morning, Bane was nowhere in sight. This would have been good, but Jenna was ready to kick herself when she stopped by the counters upstairs first to grab an apple, without Bane having to tell her to do so. By that time, she was already craving his company, and the night before she vowed to not take a tone with him when she saw him the next morning. Unfortunately for her, the end of the week meant the start of a new week was approaching, and with the start of the new week came the start of Bane's plans.

On Bane's side of things, in the beginning of the week he had been growing increasingly annoyed with how late Jenna woke up each day. He woke up early in the morning, leaving himself plenty of time during the day to get the tasks he needed to done, plus leaving himself some extra time for whatever else. He had just happened to catch Jenna at the right time on the first day during the week, and as he watched her approach him, he tried to think of the last time he had seen or heard about Jenna eating something. When he couldn't remember, he had commanded her to eat, and he watched her to make sure she didn't try anything stupid. Jenna was smart to comply.

He waited for her on the second day, deciding that if she wasn't going to take care of herself, then he would be that forceful hand in helping her do so. Her tone had made him less than happy, but on the forth day he waited for her, her tone had nearly sent him into an outrage. A shock had run up his spine upon grabbing her wrist, he hadn't had any physical contact with her all week, but that feeling was quick to fade as soon as she opened her mouth. He did not allow himself to act out on his anger, however, for he saw that Jenna had successfully held herself back from expressing what she truly wanted to say and do. She was taking his advice, it was more progress for her, therefore he decided that should be awarded, even if that award was not snapping her neck. He knew it was something she would appreciate.

That entire day he had the feel of her skin on his mind, and it carried on to the fifth and sixth day. All week he had been busy upstairs, informing his men of the first step to his plan and following up on it before he would venture outside to assist Barsad with loading the vehicles with necessary equipment and preparing his men further. He had instructed Barsad to load the Challenger as well, and he wondered when he would tell Jenna that she would be joining him and his men on this task. The rest of the fifth day and following morning, however, his mind was completely consumed with desires for Jenna, and he was near ready to kill somebody for it. After her last attempt to stay in his room, Jenna had easily given up on asking, and Bane wasn't ready to invite her in again. It made him feel unlike himself, allowing that, and he could only imagine how Jenna felt when he did. Their attraction toward each other was starting to become a real problem, and it was only getting worse during their break from each other. By the second day, Bane had figured this was a good thing. Finally, he could focus wholeheartedly on something other than Jenna, something that actually _mattered_, and maybe by the time his plan was ready to be carried out, all these mental and strong physical desires would simply melt away. Unfortunately, the exact opposite was happening.

He found himself looking at her as often as he could. Without his consent, his light gray eyes would wander in her direction every single morning, and he couldn't stop himself from looking her up and down, admiring the way her tight cargo pants hugged her legs, the way the collars of her black tank tops dipped low, exposing teasing cleavage, and the way the clothes overall perfectly shaped her slim and very curvy body. But as soon as blood would just barely start to rush downward, Jenna would open her mouth, sending the blood back upward to fuel his anger, and that was that. But this routine for him started every morning, and what ever feelings she left him with, would simply deteriorate and be non-existent the following the morning. It was becoming unbearable.

She was grouchier than usual, and he had to wonder if it was due to lack of contact with him. It made sense, really, but he couldn't allow himself to completely agree. Jenna was naturally a grouchy person, or so he was learning. But was she really? Her bad attitude had hit an all time high that week, and upon reflecting on it, he started to favor the idea that it was due to their lack of contact. Perhaps Bane was the key to taming the sour beast within Jenna, and was therefore capable of molding her to be the person he wanted.

Finally, his rather cheery mood in the morning and when he saw Jenna went away completely on the sixth day, and now, it seemed as though it had never existed. He awoke that morning feeling frustrated and tired, and already he knew this was not a good way to be when it was time to be serious with his plans and preparing everybody. When he waited for Jenna near the bottom of the stairs, clad in his cargo pants and a black, long sleeved shirt with a slight v-neck collar, his eyes didn't betray him with wandering over Jenna's body. Instead, he purposely allowed himself to look her up and down, his eyes greedily and hungrily wandering over every curve on her body. Rather than admiring her body in her clothes, his eyes focused sternly on the collar of her tank top and button on her pants, his mind fantasizing about how easily her clothes would tear from her body, exposing what was underneath. Deep down, he was aware of his sultry thoughts, and he wanted to be angry at himself and force himself to stop, but he refused to. At least thinking these thoughts helped him to cope with the embarrassingly strong want for her that had almost completely overtaken him. The want for her body on his was making him feel practically sick, and he hated it.

But all those dark years of mastering mind over body was not going to waste, for Bane held himself back from acting out on his secret desires, though the fact that he knew Jenna was experiencing the same want didn't help him to do so. It made him even hungrier for her. That morning, once she approached, he had not bothered hiding the fact that his eyes had practically raped her, and as she started past him, her own eyes on him, he unashamedly let his eyes bounce back and forth between her face, her breasts, and the button on her pants. Feeling lightheaded, Jenna had slowed her actions, her eyes fixed intently on him once she realized what he was staring at, but when his eyes returned to hers, he merely grunted as he nodded up the stairs, not only commanding her to eat something, but also willing her away from himself so he wouldn't have to look at her. Looking had become an act of teasing.

Jenna felt herself choking up as she moved up the stairs. She was not hungry whatsoever, the want for Bane had reached an all time high, just as his had for her, but regardless she grabbed more fruit before stepping outside to light up a re-fry. As she smoked it, she ventured toward the garages, and took a walk around them where she had noticed a dumpster to be, and she threw the fruit away, her stomach feeling too clenched to eat it. That side of the building blocked out the cold wind rather well, and she allowed herself to slide down the wall and sit on the pavement. She had closed her eyes, letting her cigarette burn away in her hand. She knew that she was going to finally allow her mind to wander, and fantasize about whatever she wanted, but she hadn't expected her mind to instantly picture herself kissing him, of all things.

She had thought back to the dream she had during one of her first nights at the warehouse, and she pictured his face, bare of the mask, and his strong arms forcing her roughly against the wall while his lips crashed down onto hers. The images seemed so real, and the feelings she pictured herself to have started to become a reality, and she curled her toes as she bit her lip. Just the thought of kissing him overtook her completely, and although kissing him would never be a reality, just the thought of his hands on her was enough. Her eyes had snapped open finally, shattering away her thoughts, and it left her feeling exhausted suddenly.

Jenna had gone to bed early that night, and she found herself feeling rather well rested the following morning, on the seventh day of the week. By this point, Jenna was ready to abandon her hostility and openly ask Bane if she could stay in his room again, even if that meant sitting in complete silence. At least she'd be able to look at him, and admire him as he worked on whatever it was he had to do. She was one-hundred percent desperate at this point, and near ready to make herself look like a fool.

All of her cigarettes were gone now, including the re-fries, and this forced Jenna to stay in her room all day. All of the feelings she had been experiencing were threatening to explode on her, and send her into an emotional frenzy. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and finally, she _had _to do something about it, for the both of them. She couldn't take Bane's intense eyes fiercely wandering up and down her body anymore. It was just as teasing to her as it was to him.

Now, she rose from her cot and ventured through the dark toward her door. She snapped on the lights, the brightness nearly blinding, and she squinted her eyes as she stretched her arms, her back slightly sore. Her body was quivering, her lower half already tingling, and she couldn't think clearly. All she knew was that she was ready to ask Bane for some company, and she was ready to abandon her hostile attitude. Even if Bane said no, she would have at least had the opportunity to be in his presence, to look at him, and to hear him. By now, however, she was almost certain that he was craving her just as badly as she was. Again, she thought about the intensity in his eyes as they wandered all over her body the day before. Just the thoughts alone were, and had been driving her near crazy.

She threw open her door and stormed out without a second thought, but she stopped short once she reached his closed door. Her heart was beginning to race already, but her desires were urging on her suddenly nervous mind. She sucked in a sharp, deep breath before she reached out to leave three heavy knocks on his door. She pulled back her hand and waited, her eyes focused on the bottom of the door, but after a minute or so of waiting, she grew slightly confused. She raised her fist to knock again, and she waited another a minute. There was no answer, and there would most likely be no answer. Frowning, Jenna stared at his door for a minute, wondering sadly where he was.

_Stop it_, she scolded herself. _You are fucking pathetic. _Inspiring words to herself, she was pathetic, but what was she going to do now? She was completely out of cigarettes and desperate for more, and suddenly desperate for one right now. _Isaac, _she thought to herself. She saw no harm in asking to bum a smoke from him. Bane had commanded her to stop bothering him, but she wouldn't be bothering him. If he was outside, she would simply ask for a cigarette, and if he gave her one, she would walk away and leave him alone, and if he didn't give her one, she'd still walk away and leave him alone. _Definitely not bothersome_, she thought to herself as she started up the stairs.

As soon as she stepped outside into the evening air, however, she began to second-guess her decision. The cold was turning increasingly unbearable with each passing day, and Jenna knew she was absolutely retarded for not having a coat now. Tight goosebumps covered her arms, forcing them into a shade of red as they turned numb, but once she caught site of Isaac exiting the garage door, carrying some sort of metal box, she forced herself on.

"Hey, Isaa... _Barsad_," she called once she was a few feet from him, and she watched him place the box into the trunk of the Challenger. This caught her by slight surprise and aroused confusion, but for the moment, she didn't care. Once the box was inside, he raised his head to glance at her.

"Do you think I could get a cigarette?" She asked, not even allowing more than a couple of seconds to pass before she felt the need to explain herself. "I can get a new pack whenever, I'm just waiting to ask Bane because I don't know if I can go and-"

By then, Isaac had already drawn out a cigarette from his pack to hand to her. "You need a light?"

Jenna slowly accepted the cigarette, feeling her cheeks redden. "No," she answered. "I got it. Thank you," she added, sounding more sincere than was necessary. Isaac watched her take out her lighter, and he grew slightly surprised himself when she immediately turned away to start away from him. He had been expecting her to try and talk to him, but it appeared as though she taken strongly to his words, or his 'break-up' as she had called it. The words caused a small grin to appear on his face, but once he heard Bane speaking behind him, he immediately wiped the grin from his face and turned around.

"...take those explosives to Barsad," Bane was commanding as he approached his right-hand man, his leather armband hand reaching out to point at the box somebody was currently holding. "And load up on ammunition. Obtain and carry more than you'll need. This is a big job, men."

Jenna had stopped in her path on returning to the stairs to turn and look back over to the garage, and her heart skipped a beat when she laid eyes on Bane. No longer yelling when he approached Isaac, Jenna could no longer hear him as the two conversed. She lifted the cigarette to her lips with a freezing cold, shaking hand, and she took a long drag as she unashamedly watched them. Fear crept on her, however, the longer she watched Bane give commands. The first step of action toward his plan was coming up soon, maybe even tomorrow. Jenna feared she had waited too long to act on her desires and cravings, for it seemed that Bane was now fully distracted by his tactics and war-like mind. _Fucking great... _Jenna thought, sad and annoyed, to herself. She exhaled the smoke and glanced away.

As soon as she had, however, she heard Bane call her name, and a shock colder than the Fall air ran up her spine and stung her entire head, causing her to go lightheaded. She turned around immediately, her eyes wide, and she watched Bane lift a finger and motion her over just as Isaac moved around Bane to disappear into the garage. Jenna swallowed, but her racing heart forced her over toward him. Bane may be in full-out tactical mode, but at least Jenna would now have _some _sort of contact with him.

Bane was anticipating for her to take a tone with him like she had been all week, but his mind was too busy racing at a million miles a minute for him to worry about it too much. Striving to stay focused on the task at hand, thoughts and fantasies of Jenna were still haunting his mind and distracting him. Now, as she approached him quickly, her wide hips swinging, the thoughts were more distracting than ever.

"Yes?" She asked once she had reached him, her tone catching him by surprise. It wasn't hostile at all. Rather, it was light, curious, and full of... relief? Bane stared at her for a minute, forcing his eyes to stay focused on her own, before he finally parted his lips to tell her not what he wanted to, but what he _had _to.

"You'll be accompanying them tonight," he started, his eyes betraying his mind and wandering down her body quickly. They focused on the cigarette for a split second before he forced them back to her face, the sensation of his stomach dropping taking him by surprise. It was a terrible, wrong desire, but _God _he wanted her...

"With... what?" Jenna asked as she raised her cigarette to her lips. This couldn't be considered a stupid question, she knew, for Bane hadn't told her any of his plans. She grew nervous, however. Whatever was in those heavy boxes was the real deal, and whatever was in there was being loaded into her car. What did he expect her to do, exactly?

Bane had frozen momentarily as he watched her place the cigarette in between her pink lips. They puckered perfectly around the stick, and once she removed the cigarette –slowly, it seemed– he admired the shape her lips made when she exhaled the thin stream of smoke. A small, cold gust of wind fortunately tore him from this distraction.

"To aid and assist with the complete destruction of every police station in Gotham. It's a two day project. Today has being spent preparing the explosives, tonight and tomorrow setting them up, and tomorrow night is... detonation."

"So, what do you need me to do?" Jenna asked. Bane easily picked up on the nervousness she was struggling to hide in her voice, but he had to admire that she wasn't cowering away. He noticed, however, how rather scared she appeared to be upon doing this. But he had given some thought to it, and ultimately decided that Jenna would be fine doing what he was about to assign to her.

"You are to drive the Challenger with the rest to the crew tonight to assist with the setting up, and distracting the officers inside, or full out annihilating them. You will accompany Barsad with that, but _only _to assist with handling the weaponry."

"But, I- I don't know anything about-"

"You will do this," Bane said sternly, his eyes cold as he glared into hers. "And you _will _succeed. There is _no _room for error."

"But I don't... I-" Jenna cut herself off finally, deciding complaining was not the best route to go here. "Okay," she finally said, dropping her gaze from Bane's as she lifted her arms slightly in defeat. This took Bane by surprise, and his brow furrowed slightly as he kept his eyes focused on her.

"Alright," he said back finally. "You leave tonight."

Jenna was keeping her gaze focused on the ground. "Sounds good," she replied, though she knew this was going to be anything but good. If she didn't find a way to screw up and die on site, then she would more than likely meet her gruesome fate upon returning the warehouse. Why was Bane expecting so much out of her, so suddenly?

As the seconds ticked on, she knew Bane would be turning to leave at any moment. Her body couldn't handle that thought. _She, _entirely couldn't handle that thought. She glanced up with only her eyes, her aqua orbs focusing on his hands, and she watched him pivot his fingers back and forth as he continued to stare down at her. She could feel the energy of want radiating off of him like a heater, and it caused her heart to race faster and faster. All she wanted to do at that moment was press her body to his, and relieve herself of this built-up desire. Taking a break from doing so was probably the worst decision she had ever made in her entire life. Forget deceiving her parents and obeying Bane in the beginning, and forget choosing herself over her parents to live in this hellhole. Keeping herself away from Bane felt like the worst, possible torture anyone could ever inflict on her. She hated it, she hated admitting it, and she hated feeling this way, it was sick and it was wrong, but it was consuming her.

Bane continued to stare down at her, his eyes taking in her entire body and feeding him more sick fantasies. These urges had become unbearable, and like Jenna, he hated it. Why was this happening to him? How did he stop it? Did he even want to stop it? He had lost control of the situation at first, and he had allowed loss of control the second time, but now? He was positive he would hurt and maybe even kill her in the process of relieving his desires. He was losing control now, more than ever, and he felt like for the first time, he couldn't do anything to stop it. For some terrible, terrible reason, the woman standing in front of him really got to him, in so many ways, and though Bane could list what these traits were on the surface, deep down he found their reasons to be inescapable. For now, things Bane disliked, or, _thought _he disliked about Jenna came across his mind. She was so shallow, and naïve, and timid most times. Her attitude made her out to be totally murder worthy, and her mood swings were less than desirable. But yet...

Her shallowness gave her insight into things Bane and the rest would never know anything about, and maybe one day that would prove to be useful. After all, her shallowness and quick-to-judge mindset had detected a terrible truth about Karly, with her plans to rob Bane (which, he had discovered over the week, were proving to be more and more true). Her innocence was inviting; it was a strong aspect that not only drew him to her, but also made him keep her around. Innocence was a simple, and rewarding thing to break... Her nervousness was annoying, but logically, Bane understood. He didn't want to, but he did. After all, Barsad had been the same way, at first. More and more, however, Jenna proved and practiced more confidence. She had taken to Bane's advice, and he knew she would gain the confidence she needed by performing the tasks assigned. Her confidence shone, however, whenever they were alone together...

Her attitude was terrible, but in some sort of sick way, it was endearing to him. Jenna was the type of person who didn't take anything less than desirable from anyone, except for himself, of course, and he admired this. She was tough, in her own sense. Physically she was strong, and mentally she was getting there. What was most redeeming about all of Jenna's flaws was that she was capable of learning, growing, and correcting her ways. She hadn't said one bad thing to Bane all week, and now, he was almost sure she wouldn't anymore. Sure there would be slip ups, but he anticipated for these to be endearing as well, whether he admitted it or not. But what was worst of all, she was physically one of the most attractive women Bane had ever seen. He enjoyed everything about her body, from her unique eyes, plump and pink lips, and soft skin, all the way to the nail polish paint chipping on her toes. It was a sick attraction, but it was purely natural, and Bane could not help it.

His thoughts had distracted him from noticing that Jenna was staring up at him now with slightly narrowed eyes. He stared back deeply into her eyes, able to read every emotion that was swimming within them, and at that moment, they both lost it.

He reached out to take a firm hold of her upper arm before he stepped in front of her to start charging over toward the exit door. Jenna did not whine, and she did not complain, and he could feel how she was moving quickly to keep up with him, more than willing to go to where ever he was dragging her. The leather that covered his hand was freezing cold, but his fingers on her skin were warm, and Jenna felt herself melting away as Bane dragged her up the stairs and threw open the door. Jenna nearly tripped over her feet several times as she was forced down the stairs behind Bane, her arm starting to throb and hurt violently, but she accepted the pain, feeling as though it was fueling her. Bane's room couldn't come up fast enough.

It seemed as though minutes passed before Bane was kicking his door open and spinning Jenna around to push her inside of his room. He released his grip on her arm, and just as Jenna stumbled forward he caught both of her upper arms in his hands, and he spun her around before slamming her against the wall next to the door, which he had closed with his foot. Both of their assumptions about each other had been proven true, for Bane was acting like an absolute animal, and Jenna was only willing him on. She groaned loudly when her back hit the wall, and she couldn't help but to moan again when she felt Bane's rough hands on her ass suddenly. He lifted her up, and he stepped closer to her to hold her against the wall, Jenna's legs instantly wrapping around his hips. She reached forward to begin untying the laces on her boots, her eyes remaining closed as Bane's hands wandered over her roughly, and once she had them untied, she leaned back to begin with kicking them off. She was anticipating his next move, and before she was too late, her eyes snapped open just as Bane had clutched both sides of her shirt. Her own hands flew up to clutch on his wrists.

"_No_," she breathed, her eyes widening slightly when she raised them to look into his. He looked fierce, hungry, and she knew he had absolutely no patience at this point. "Please don't tear my clothes, I-"

"Get to taking them off then," he interrupted in a growl, sending a shiver though Jenna's body, and her eyes slid closed when she felt him run his hands down her sides. Once they reached her hips, he moved them back upward, this time under her shirt, and her lips parted at the feel of his calloused and rough fingers on her skin, along with that annoying leather arm band. She bit her lip a second later as she immediately moved to start taking her shirt off, and Bane stared at her lips as she did so.

Once her shirt was removed, she instantly moved her hands behind her back to unclasp her bra before Bane could rip this apart. He wanted to grin at her actions, but the intensity kept him from doing so, and instead, once she dropped her bra to the floor, his hands instantly moved up to her breasts.

Jenna moaned as she squeezed her eyes shut, and she blindly reached out toward him to take a hold of the bottom of his black shirt. She instantly began to bring it up, but she paused, her eyes opening, when Bane took his hand from her, and she watched him reached behind his back, grab the back of his shirt, and easily slide it off of his head and arms before letting it drop to the floor. Jenna groaned at the site of his muscles, and she immediately reached out to run her hands over his chest and stomach.

Bane's hands were shaking as he tore them away from Jenna's body to take off the arm band, and once had dropped this onto the floor, his hands immediately went to her pants. Jenna squeaked in protest, her hands instantly taking hold of his wrists again, and Bane growled in frustration. Displeased with the noise, Jenna's eyes snapped open, and she glared at him.

"If you tear my pants I'll break this fucking belt," Jenna warned as she tightened her legs around him, signaling to the large belt he constantly wore around his hips. Butterflies started up strongly in her stomach, however, when Bane chuckled deeply, and she went lightheaded when she felt him undo the button of her pants, slowly and gently.

"I'd like to see you try," he retorted gently, catching Jenna by surprise, but she never anticipated for him to suddenly take a firm hold of her hips and turn her away from the wall. He stepped toward his bed and slammed Jenna against the mattress, enjoying the way she flinched when her head hit the bed. She groaned a second later, however, when she felt Bane slide her pants off of her legs, and as they crashed to the floor, his eyes roamed up her legs before they focused on her white, boy-shorts underwear. He went lightheaded as well as desire took him over, and suddenly he was desperate for two things: a perfect view of Jenna's ass, and the sensation that would come with touching her.

Just as Jenna's eyes opened, confusion growing due to Bane's lack of movement, he placed his hands on her hips and turned her around, forcibly, but gently, before he placed one hand on the back of her knees, his fingers spread to touch both of them, and as he lifted up her hips, he pressed on the back of her knees, forcing them to bend and hold her ass up. Due to her knew position, Jenna felt her lower half start to tingle wildly, and she let out another loud moan when she felt Bane's hand wander onto her ass. The bottom of her underwear exposed the bottoms of each cheek, but now that she was bent over, the view was even better. He kept his eyes locked on it as he moved his fingers over it, enjoying the way Jenna squirmed in front of him, but after a minute or so of this, strong want for his second desire overtook him, and Jenna grunted slightly when he forced her hips back down onto the bed. He pushed her legs apart slightly before he leaned over her, his body heavy on top of hers, but this was easily ignored when she felt his fingers wander up the length of her.

She buried her face into the blankets on his bed as she groaned. She never expected Bane to do anything like this, but currently, as he pushed her underwear to the side, Jenna felt herself about to lose control. He easily pushed one finger inside of her, and he savored the loud moan that escaped from her. The moan faded into a whine as he moved his finger in and out of her, enjoying how the inside of her felt, but as soon as he pushed two inside, Jenna lost it.

Her mouth hung open as she groaned loudly, not caring if anybody could hear, and she brought herself up onto her arms and legs, clutching the blankets as she arched her back, and she squeezed her eyes tight as she enjoyed the sensation. She had been able to tell Bane was having a hard time controlling himself; when he dragged her into his room she had expected him to fuck her right there and then, just to get it over with and release the desires, like she wanted as well. But what he was doing currently was a real treat. He was prolonging their time together, and although Jenna wished she knew all the reasons why, her mind would not allow her to ponder the situation further. All went blank as her wet walls clenched around his fingers as he wiggled them inside of her, and before she knew it, she was coming.

She cried out as she buried her head into the blankets again, her body quivering more than ever, and this took Bane by surprise. Once she had started to relax, he couldn't help but to grin as he slid his fingers out of her, enjoying the twitch that erupted from her body as he did so.

"That was... fast," he commented, amused, while Jenna started to turn around, an animal having been awoken in her, as well.

"No shit," she said back, a slip-up, Bane thought, but at the moment he didn't care at all.

Jenna was already reaching out to undo his belt, remembering how she had done it the last time, and within seconds she was angrily tossing it behind him, feeling some satisfaction when she heard it slam against the wall. Bane ignored this, his desires too strong, and as Jenna started to undo his pants he began to kick off his boots. As soon as Jenna had undone his pants, and as soon as Bane had finally kicked off his last boot, he impatiently took off his own pants. Jenna barely had time to watch him do this, for the second his pants and underwear had reached his ankles, he was already forcing her back onto the bed to climb on top of her.

As he kicked off his pants, Jenna stared intently into his eyes, wishing that he would just fuck her already. But Bane's patience had completely run out, and before Jenna could anticipate anything else, Bane took a hold of both her wrists and held them above her head, pinning them to the bed, and as Jenna flinched and squirmed at the pain, Bane was forcing himself in between her legs. As soon as Jenna had brought both of her knees up, Bane plunged himself inside her, only to pause instantly at the sensation of being inside her. Finally, after enduring that entire, difficult week, it felt as though his hunger was being fed, and his urges were fading away. Jenna groaned loudly, not only due to pleasure and relief, but also due to the harsh pressure on the wrists as Bane shifted his weight all onto the hand that was holding them, it seemed. Finally, after what seemed like an hour later, Bane finally began to swing his hips forward.

Fixed in a fast rhythm as he pounded against her, his hand still holding her wrists together, Jenna continued to emit loud and sultry moans, her mouth formed in the shape of a perfect 'O'. As he fucked her, Bane's eyes moved from her facial expressions to her bouncing breasts, and he admired both during the time his eyes focused on them. Jenna opened her eyes just as Bane's had returned to her face, and though her first instinct was to immediately close them, she found herself unable to as she stared into Bane's eyes. She was trapped, laying there, breathing shallowly and deeply as he continued to move in and out of her, and the longer she stared into his eyes, the more the pain in her wrists seemed to fade. His eyes were full of hunger, and greed toward getting what he wanted from her, but also the look of pure desire for _her _was unmissable. She found it absolutely captivating that such a huge, intimidating, evil and powerful man could possess eyes that were such a soft shade of gray, and hold so many deep, unknown emotions behind them.

Bane had grown stuck looking into her eyes, as well. They shone through the darkness like glow sticks, and he couldn't believe that he still found himself to be stunned over their rare color. He had been able to detect all sorts of emotions in her eyes in that newsprint photo, but staring into them, close-up, and seeing the emotions in real time was another thing. Her eyes were full of want, hunger and relief, but on a deeper level he easily detected something that he did not want too see: warmth, comfort, and a strong sense of security, and he knew all of these were being brought on by him.

He growled as he closed his eyes and bowed his head, desperate to look away from her eyes suddenly. Jenna wasn't complaining, and she gracefully shut her own eyes as she tilted her head back. Beneath his hand, he felt her arms squirming around as she grew desperate for him to free them, and after he thrusted against her a few more times, he finally released her wrists. Blood flowing back to her hands seemed just as painful as they had not even a second ago, and she groaned as she lowered her strained arms. Jenna fought through the pain, however, too desperate in her need to touch him, and not even five seconds after Bane had let go, Jenna was digging her nails into the skin on his arms.

"You know that doesn't hurt," Bane pointed out, his eyes still closed, his voice a mess of nearly inaudible grumbles as he breathed in and out deeply, but Jenna had understood him.

"I know it feels _good_," she purred, curling her fingers back before she raked them down his arms, pressing them into the flesh as deeply as she could go. Bane sighed through his mask, his eyes closing tighter, and in response he slammed his hands onto Jenna's hips and forced her closer to himself. Jenna cried out in pain –Bane was entering her deeper than ever– but although the pain masked much of the pleasure, it was still inviting to Jenna, and once she accepted the pain, the pleasure became more prominent, until it was the perfect mix of both.

This continued on for several more minutes until finally Jenna felt her finish approaching. She gasped as her entire body seemed to clench, her fingernails digging into the flesh on his shoulders again, and she cried out loudly as she came, her voice nearly echoing off of the walls. It was a powerful orgasm due to holding out on her strong desires the entire week, even the second time around, and not even seconds after she had came, Bane was groaning as he spilled himself into her with a couple of more thrusts. The pain subdued more and more once Bane had stopped moving, and as Jenna struggled to catch her breath, she peacefully listened to Bane doing the same through his mask, that butterfly feeling in the pit of her stomach failing to settle as she threw her arms back onto the bed. She was lightheaded, her mind blank, and she had no control over herself a moment later when she raised her arm to rest her hand down gently on Bane's shoulder blade. The action had caught him by surprise, and when Jenna felt his body tense slightly she anticipated for him to grow angry, and physically toss her out of the room, but he remained still, allowing her hand to rest there. Jenna felt her face redden, she was unsure of the gesture meant, but suddenly her hand felt like a fifty pound weight. Though her fingertips on his skin was light as a feather, it felt like a weight to Bane as well, and he could not figure out why he was accepting her to touch him so peacefully.

After another minute passed, Bane was finally pushing himself off of Jenna with his arms, and she caught herself mid-groan as Bane pulled out of her. She was still fighting to catch her breath as Bane put back on his pants and underwear, and once she heard him zip the cargo pants, she forced herself to lean up, deciding she'd better get dressed as well. She struggled to cover herself as she went about collecting her clothes and boots, and the fact that Bane was staring at her wasn't helping. Finally, after a moment or so of watching Jenna struggle to get her clothes on without exposing any sensitive body parts, Bane spoke up.

"Why do you do that?" He asked once Jenna had clasped her bra, clad only in her underwear and bra now. When she glanced at him, her shirt in her hand, her eyes were wide.

"Do what?" She wondered.

"Attempt to hide your body after... _that_," Bane rephrased, and Jenna swallowed as she tore her gaze away from him to stare down at her shirt.

"I don't know," she replied. "I guess I never noticed I did."

Bane remained silent. His body was still quivering, and though it felt relieved, it almost felt as though it was preparing itself for another round. This, Bane knew, could not happen. He had already given into his body, now it was time for his mind to dominate. Tonight he would rest, and tomorrow he would take part in step one of his plan.

By now, Jenna had completely finished getting dressed, and when Bane glanced back at her he saw she was heading toward the door, her boots clutched together in her hand. "Where are you going?" He asked.

Jenna paused before slowly turning to glance at him. "To the bathroom to get ready to leave, I guess," she answered. "Plus I figured it was my cue to get out. Like always," she added in a mumble, only to freeze and hope Bane had not heard what she said. But he had, only this time he was choosing to ignore it. It was at the tip of his tongue to invite her to stay, but he held himself back from doing so. He would _not _be the pathetic one here. Of course Jenna was to leave his room now, what else did he need her for? He nodded and began to turn around, but Jenna's first answer instantly made him wonder something shocking. He turned toward her slightly, his words halting at his lips, and Jenna watched him, wondering what was going on. Finally, Bane glanced at her, and he forced himself to say what was on his mind. "What is being done about some sort of... birth control?" He asked, feeling lightheaded at his question, for it was an inquiry he had assumed he would never have to ask.

His question had caught Jenna by surprise, and she immediately felt her face reddening. "I... um..." she began to stammer as she glanced down at her boots. "When I turned twenty one I, uh... had an implant," Jenna replied, suddenly wanting to die. Bane was staring at her, and she assumed this meant he was waiting for an explanation. "It's a stick thing that they put in your arm and-"

Bane nodded as an interruption. "As long as it's being taken care of," he replied, turning away from her a moment later. Jenna raised her eyebrows and nodded, feeling even more embarrassed as she turned to rush out of the room.

Her heart was going into a frenzy as she ran up the stairs and started toward the bathroom. Jenna had never expected Bane to ask such a question, ever, but now that he had, it made her realize how rather important the question was. But thoughts of this topic faded as intense anxiety washed over her. Jenna really didn't want to go on this mission. How much help could she prove to serve? What assistance could she offer? She knew she would just slow everybody down. Why was Bane so certain about her going? If anything, Jenna thought, it was just because he wanted her to gain experience with these sort of tasks. Rather than over-thinking that subject now, Jenna merely ignored it, and instead focused on trying to calm her nerves.

Back in his room, Bane found himself still standing in the exact same spot Jenna had left him in, his shirt laying on the floor in front of him. He was blankly staring ahead at his dresser, his mind running wild with thoughts he would prefer he didn't have, but regardless, they were beginning to consume him. Bane was not a beat-around-the-bush sort of guy at all, and he definitely wasn't one to ever shy away from a confrontation, but having had to ask Jenna that question had been more than difficult. It was a question he had never planned on asking anybody, and once he had accepted this, that whole aspect of his life had dropped, leaving him less to worry about. But now, and ever sense Jenna, his furious mind had to remind his relieved body of the importance...

But what else was there to worry about, he wondered as he finally reached down to pick up his shirt, and he stepped toward the dresser to pick up his belt from the floor. Jenna _was, _and had been on some sort of birth control, Bane thought as he shook his head, ashamed, to himself. That was that, wasn't it? Unfortunately, Bane couldn't escape the feelings of appreciation and approval toward her suddenly, and he found these emotions were overpowering his relief on the topic. How was it possible that the _one _girl whom he had decided to have these relations with seemed to fit him perfectly? Issues of pregnancy were irrelevant, his body fit so perfectly with hers, and she was able to handle anything he threw at her thus far during the act.

The only thing that tore Bane away from these thoughts was turning on his TV to view his camera images after he had put his shirt and belt on. The first thing he saw, of course, was Jenna walking down the hall and toward the stairs to the basement, a rather sad look on her face. Bane studied her for a moment, but once she disappeared off of the square he was staring at to descend the stairs, his eyes wandered over to the garages, and he watched what was left of his men finish with the final loading, some of them having already started their trip to Midtown, and Uptown Gotham. His eyes dropped away from this to stare at the Challenger, and an odd sort of feeling started to creep up onto him as he listened to Jenna's footsteps walk past his door before he listened to her own door close. A small shock ran up his spine and lingered in his neck as he stared at the challenger, watching as Isaac placed one more metal box into the trunk, and once he closed it, Bane pressed the button on the remote to turn the TV off. He wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling, but suddenly he did not want Jenna to go on this expedition. It was an intensive mission, and the one's here after were only going to get worse. He was expecting causalities of not only officers and citizens, but his men as well, trained professionals... Jenna was anything but a trained professional... _What if she was the first to go?_

As soon as this thought had entered his mind, Bane could not stop himself from turning to throw open his door and step out of his room to head to Jenna's. When he pushed open her door, he found her on her cot, leaning over as she finished tying her last boot on, and when she glanced up at him with wide, surprised eyes, Bane suddenly realized what he was doing, and the more than ridiculous thing he was about to do. Jenna was staring at him, waiting to see what he wanted, and after he stared into her confused and nervous eyes for a moment, he finally spoke up.

"You're not... your assistance is no longer needed," Bane informed, deciding this sounded much better than telling her 'you're not going anymore." When Jenna would ask why, this new statement would be much easier to answer.

"Why?" Jenna wondered, taken back by this ridiculously random turn of events. Bane appeared to be having a hard time answering (regardless), and he seemed rushed. What was going on?

"You'll offer more trouble than help," Bane explained. Not necessarily a lie, but it also wasn't the entire truth, either. But nothing could ever make Bane verbally express that he was keeping Jenna at the warehouse to avoid her getting hurt... or dying. Just the thought alone made Bane feel physically sick, but regardless, he maintained his composure. "We need to finish this task accurately and completely," he went on.

"And you think I'm not capable of doing so?" It was becoming evident to Jenna that there was more on Bane's mind than just accurate completion of this task. With the way he had so desperately expressed how bad he had been wanting her, and with the way he barged in here not even five minutes later to tell her she wasn't going, Jenna had a feeling that he was, in a way, looking out for her well-being. Jenna wanted to believe it made sense, but did it really? That would imply so many things...

"No," Bane replied. "I don't. Not with this."

Jenna wanted to test her theory. "Well," she began, stretching her legs out, and she pretended to think for a moment. "I'll never learn, or gain experience," she pointed out. "If I don't go out into the field."

Bane narrowed his eyes on her. Did Jenna know what was really up? How could she, though?

"Are you telling me that you feel confident enough to accurately assist with assembling explosives? Do you _know _anything about them?"

_Shit... _Jenna's plan had failed, and due to Bane's comment, she began to wonder if her theory was even correct. His answer made it clear that he was only thinking about the operation at hand. "No..." Jenna finally mumbled, defeated.

"Alright then," Bane said, feeling fortunate that Jenna had brought this conversation to an easy end, without any real feelings having been exposed. "You will stay here tonight then."

Jenna nodded. "Okay." Without another word, Bane turned and exited her room, leaving Jenna alone with her thoughts.

Although verbally the conversation had disproved her theory, Jenna couldn't help but to feel as though there was still more to it. Why was Bane so quick to decide that she _was _going, and then after they finally got to be amongst each other, decide so quickly that she _wasn't _going? She knew Bane knew since the start that Jenna didn't know anything about what she was supposed to do on site, but yet he had still decided in the beginning to make her go. That was the main reason Jenna had a feeling Bane had other intentions for keeping her there. But what were they?

–

The rest of the evening passed quickly into night time, and after staying awake in her room for hours, craving another cigarette, Jenna finally fell asleep, clad still in her boots. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, however, when loud sounds and voices woke her up from a very light and shallow sleep. She woke with a start, and once she sat up in the cot she made a disgusted face once she realized she had been sweating. Frowning, she wiped her face, and she listened to the noises outside.

"...how many?" She heard Bane's voice rise through the rest.

"Sixteen, Sir," somebody answered. "And waiting to confirm more." The voices and clanking of objects continued, but right when Jenna had gotten use to the noise as she continued to sit there, Bane's voice barking new orders caused her to jump.

"Everybody upstairs!" He called. "Finish unloading and park the vehicles in the garages. Barsad!" He yelled, and Jenna waited, her eyes wide. "I need to know what went wrong," she heard Bane speak up again, though his voice was further away. The voices and noises started to fade until finally the basement was left dead silent. Jenna remained in her room for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to see what was going on. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, and before she could second-guess her choices, she was throwing open her door and stepping into the basement.

A few metal and wooden boxes had been stacked to the right of her room, nearly fifteen feet away, and upon glancing to her left she saw Bane's door was wide open. She walked over, seeing if he was inside it, but when she saw it was empty she figured Bane had gone upstairs with the rest. She considered going outside, but she quickly decided against this. It would be freezing outside, and she had a feeling she would be very unwelcome there. Sitting and waiting for Bane to return seemed like a better idea.

So Jenna waited in her room. She began with sitting on her cot, staring out of her door and toward the stairs, waiting for somebody to walk through them, but as the minutes passed, her eyes grew heavier and heavier, and she made the mistake of letting herself lay down. Before she knew it, her eyes had slid closed, and again, she was unsure how long she had been asleep, but heavy footsteps pounding down the stairs woke her up however long later. She leaned up instantly and glanced out of the door, happy to see that Bane was returning to the basement, alone, but she was upset to see that he looked rather annoyed. If she was to ask him what happened, would he even answer? Jenna's burning curiosity pushed her forward to the door.

"What happened?" She asked just before Bane could reach his room. He paused and glanced over at her, his first instinct to ignore her, but before his body could comply, he was already opening his mouth to speak.

"During the distraction to misdirect the police and citizens," he began. "There were sixteen causalities."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "Of your men?" She confirmed, and she watched Bane nod.

"It's more than I was expecting, but-"

"Wait," Jenna interrupted, stepping out of her room more. "You were anticipating for people to die?"

"Yes," Bane answered, his tone making it seem as though it was something Jenna should have already known. "With plans like these being put into action, it would be silly not to anticipate death."

Jenna felt lightheaded. _"Is that why you didn't make me go?" _She imagined herself asking him. She pictured Bane quickly shooting down her question. "_Absolutely not_," he would say. _"Had you of gone, you would have caused more to end up dead." _But deep down, another feeling was imagining him to reply with different answers. She could see him simply ignoring her question to keep it in the air and alive with out an answer, and merely stepping inside his room and closing the door. Even deeper down in her heart, where this sick emotion was stemming from, she pictured him giving her the answer she not only assumed was correct now, but secretly wanted to hear. _"Yes," _he would sigh, defeated as he bowed his head slightly. There would be no need for him to go on.

But Jenna hadn't asked the question, and although Bane had been anticipating for her to ask something that related his decision back to her, she never did, and for this he was thankful. They remained staring at each other for another moment before Bane finally stepped into his room without a word, and he closed the door behind him, leaving Jenna to stand in her doorway, her mind racing.

Bane _had _to have kept her at the warehouse to protect her, Jenna figured. All the signs were pointing to this now. Bane knew people would die, and while yes, Jenna would have been more trouble than help, Bane knew that Jenna's inexperience would be the ultimate cause of her death. A strong shock ran up Jenna's spine as she backed into her room, not bothering to close the door. Jenna was ninety percent sure Bane had made her stay at the warehouse to avoid her death. Bane had saved her life, and Jenna was certain he was aware of this.

She felt dizzy, and she immediately plopped down onto her cot. Bane didn't want her to die? Come to think of it, it was clear now that this had been true for a while now. This explained all the second chances he had been giving her, his patience and tolerance with her, the greed and passion he exuded when they were alone together...

The room was spinning, and Jenna closed her eyes. If any of this wasn't true, Jenna couldn't even anticipate how stupid and embarrassed she would feel. But she had a strong feeling that it was true, not only due to logic, feelings and theories, but mainly due to the fact that now she was realizing she felt the same way. She had known all along for a while, but she never wanted to face, or think about the truth. It was explained now: her stronger will to live, her constant thoughts and desires about Bane, her desperation to be with him... it wasn't confidence that came to her when they were alone, it was being consumed in the moment, and blindly acting out her body's desires. It was always natural reactions, it was her mind and body telling her she'd be okay with doing what she did to him. Jenna sighed as she turned over in her cot. How, and when the _fuck _had this all happened? It defied everything that was right. Jenna was living in the strongest wrong she would ever know, but she knew there was no getting out of it. Bane's _caring _action had brought this realization to her, and now she couldn't help but stare the truth face on, dead in the eye of it.

She wished she could just ask him to get his clarification, but she knew he would never give it to her. At the same time, she knew she would never tell him the exact truth, either. She couldn't help but want to express her gratitude, though. Bane had saved her life. Maybe her life was hell now, but they both knew her desires to live, and due to that last minute decision, here she was was, alive as ever. But what could she say? What could she do? _Do_... Jenna thought, an idea coming to mind. She remembered that picture of Bane wearing that large coat, and the tone of voice he had had when she asked him about it. What if she was to express her secret thank you by getting him his coat back? But was that stupid? Was it a death threat in itself? How would that appear to Bane, especially if Jenna's theory was wrong?

She sighed, feeling nervous, but more so determined to do it. Whether Bane realized it or not, he had done Jenna a huge kindness, and in turn, Jenna wanted to repay it. If her theory was wrong, and if her actions confused Bane, then she figured she would deal with that later. All she knew now was she had to figured out how she was going to go about secretly doing this...

**Gotta express a much needed thank you to ALL of you. This story is by far my best and most popular on fanfiction, and I have to thank you guys for making it happen. It means so much to me, I can't even tell you :)**

**Please review lovies!  
**


	15. Betrayal

Jenna had had a hard time falling asleep that night. After her realization, and after her decision on how to pay him back, her mind was full, and it would not stop running during her time of trying to fall asleep. Her heart had ceased to stop racing, and it beat a hundred miles a second while shocks continued to run up and down her spine. Her body was excited upon her realization, but her mind was nervous, and it would not stop playing scenarios of every possible thing that could go wrong, and asking her questions. How was she supposed to go about doing this? How could she be sure she'd get the right coat? Why was she so confident she'd be able to find it? Where had Bane even gotten it? Gotham? Jenna had bitten her lip as she lay with her eyes closed in the dark, aware that she would have to lie in order to get out of the warehouse. Bane had made it clear that lies would not be tolerated, and like keeping her phone around, this made Jenna very nervous. But her excited body was winning; Jenna would get him that coat, no matter what the cost. The majority of her wanted to show him that she cared as well, even if the feelings were miniscule.

Nearly three or fours hours before Jenna woke up the next morning, she had fallen into a deep sleep finally, and because of reaching such a deep slumber, Jenna felt very well rested when she finally did wake up the next morning around ten o' clock. Her patience having ended for waiting to carry out her plan, Jenna jumped off of her cot and immediately moved to get dressed. She paused, however, once she pulled out her bag from under the bed. While out on her own mission, Jenna didn't want to capture too much attention to herself, especially after Bane's men, dressed in cargo pants and black shirts, had seemed to fuel a mini war on the town the night before. Deciding it would be a good idea to get away from that, Jenna pulled out a pair of new underwear, skinny jeans, and a white tank top. Once she was dressed, she tied on her combat boots, figuring those would be okay to wear, and as she turned to find her make-up bag, she ran her fingers through her hair, deciding her was clean enough for a day out. After she found her bag of toiletries, she pulled out the makeup her face called for and a small mirror before she applied an appropriate amount of makeup. Once she finished, nearly fifteen minutes later after waking, Jenna grabbed her purse and started out of her room.

Bane's door was wide open, the basement empty, but upstairs Jenna could hear various men talking. She swallowed as she started over toward Bane's door, hoping and praying that he would buy her excuse and allow her to leave. No cowering out, Jenna told herself once she reached his door, her eyes instantly finding his large frame deeper in his room, standing in front of the colorful boxes. When she knocked on the door, she saw Bane had been rummaging through one of the boxes, and once she had knocked, Bane turned around.

"Jenna," he spoke her name loudly as he turned to look back into the drawer. "You're up early."

"I know," Jenna replied in an even tone of voice, trying to mask her impatience to leave and get this done.

"Any particular reason as to _why_?" Bane pressed.

"Yes, actually," Jenna answered, bravely stepping into his room. Bane could sense and hear that she had done so, but he let this pass as he continued to go through the box. "I was hoping I could go pick up a coat for myself, and maybe some extra clothes and stuff."

"Where?" Bane wondered.

"My house?" Jenna wondered, and she bit her lip, hoping she sounded convincing enough. Once Bane turned around, she immediately released her lip and tried to loose her nervous look. Her eyes wandering down his shirtless frame, she saw he was holding a packaged syringe in his hand, and as he started over toward the desk, she took a small step back, allowing him room to pass.

"No," Bane replied, and Jenna felt her heart sink. She was about to open her mouth to protest as Bane ripped open the package, but he was already speaking before she could. "You may go to a store – around this area– to purchase one, though." He sat down on his bed now, and he glanced up at Jenna, unaware that she had stepped back even further, for while he was talking, she had noticed that newspaper picture of him and his coat laying where she had left it on the end of the desk.

"That works," Jenna replied. _Around here though? Fuck... _"I was thinking I might go get something to eat too," she added, trying to think of how she could buy herself some more time. She noticed Bane glance up at her with semi-widened eyes, and she knew this would be a good excuse for him since he had been trying to get her to eat during the past week. "At that diner Isaac showed me... if that's okay."

Bane continued to stare at her, and Jenna fought the urge to swallow. It would completely give her away. Finally, Bane glanced away just as he had removed the syringe from the package.

"That's fine," he said.

"And," Jenna went on, freezing slightly when Bane glanced up at her again. "Can I get more cigarettes? At a gas station?"

Bane nodded as he glanced back down again. "Yes," he replied as he took the lid off the needle. "Be back no later than one."

Jenna had watched him remove the cap, and as soon as he bowed his head to inject whatever was in the syringe into his upper arm, Jenna quickly turned to glance down at the picture to study it. It was an aviator coat of some type, she knew, she just hoped she could find it, or at least something like it at the store she had in mind, which, of course, was nowhere around the area. It was closer to her house. But Bane had given her a generous three hour time frame. That would be more than enough time, right?

Bane had finished before Jenna was done looking, and when he began to speak she jumped and glanced at him, hoping he wouldn't ask her why she had been looking at the picture again. "Why are you so desperate to leave?" He wondered.

Jenna shrugged. "I need some time to myself," she lied. Bane nodded, but his next comment left Jenna tongue-tied for a minute.

"You have time to yourself everyday, though, when you hide away in your room," Bane pointed out, his eyes fixed intently on her. "Last I witnessed, you dislike being alone." He was referring to Jenna always asking him if she could sit in his room, she knew, and she took in a small breath.

"Yeah..." Jenna replied a moment later finally. "But, it'd be nice to get _out _for a while." She struggled not to swallow nervously while she worried that Bane could hear her racing heart from where he sat.

"Fine," he replied. "Barsad shouldn't be busy, he'll go with you-"

"No!" Jenna quickly interrupted, her eyes widening, but once Bane paused abruptly, the room falling silent, Jenna quickly began to speak. "I mean, I'd rather go alone."

"Why?" Bane asked slowly, skeptically, and Jenna could feel the hole she was digging herself growing deeper and deeper.

"Because... I just wanna be alone." This was a bad excuse. "And Isaac will only rush me along and be annoying as hell. Please?" This was a good excuse, and once she had spoken, she decided to divert the topic slightly. "I'm not going to runaway," she said in a smaller voice. "Haven't I already proven that I'm not going anywhere? I had all the chances to when I had to go to the hotel and-"

Bane chuckled as he stood from the bed, catching Jenna by surprise, and she froze slightly when he stepped closer to her to toss the syringe in a small garbage below the desk, just next to her legs. "You don't need to sell me on it, Jenna," Bane replied. "Barsad would go with you simply to ensure you don't do anything stupid."

Jenna frowned, but she forced herself not to get angry or annoyed with his comment. "I'm just going to the store and then getting something to eat. There's not much stupidity to be offered," she added with a roll of her eyes, prompting another laugh from Bane. She did not understand his moods sometimes. "I don't need him."

"If you're sure," Bane replied. "But _when _you get yourself into trouble, neither he nor I will be available to save you," he warned.

"Fine," she replied, hoping Bane hadn't taken much notice or care to her tone. "Thank you," she added in a more even-toned mumble, surprised and thankful Bane had loosened the reigns and given in so easily. She fixed her purse on her shoulder and started to turn to leave, but something had caught Bane's attention. He had noticed that she was wearing more casual clothes than normal, but now he realized she was still wearing her combat boots. He had wanted to comment on her failure to follow his directions of always dressing in 'uniform', but her mixed and matched style had him curious now, though he had a loose theory as to why she had done it.

"Jenna," he spoke her name just before she reached the door. "Why are you wearing that?"

Jenna turned to face him, thankful she'd be able to give him at least one truth. She felt it would only validate the rest of the things she had told him. "I figured since I'm going out, I shouldn't wear what everyone else is, since, you know... because of all that happened last night. The city will start to know what cargo pants, dark shirts and boots mean," she added. "At least, I shouldn't wear that on a casual day out," she specified.

Her answer surprised Bane. In the back of his mind he had wondered if her answer would be something along those lines, but he hadn't expected her to actually say it. Perhaps Jenna was smarter and more perceptive than he gave her credit for.

"Good choice," he said a moment later. "Enjoy your day," he offered before he pulled out the chair to his desk. Jenna couldn't help but to smile.

"I will," she answered, and without another word she turned to march up the stairs, feeling rather proud of herself.

Outside, the air was freezing, as always, and as Jenna started toward the garage, she decided picking up a coat for herself wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. Isaac was outside, and once Jenna saw he was getting ready to close the garage door, she quickened her pace to catch up with him before he could.

"Wait!" She called. "I need the keys," she finished a second later once she had approached him. Isaac kept his arms raised, his hands on the bottom of the garage, and he cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"I'm going to the store," she replied. "Bane said I could," she added a moment later, able to tell this would be Isaac's next question. Without a word, he backed away from the garage to take the keys off of the hook above the work bench, and he handed them to her. Jenna didn't reply verbally, but she couldn't help but to flash him a quick smile before she moved to get into the Challenger. Isaac stepped aside to wait for her to back out, and once Jenna had, he found himself rather surprised over how much that aspect of her driving had improved. Once Jenna corrected the wheel and started away from the building, he proceeded with closing the garage, deciding that now he would busy himself with cleaning his guns and polishing his knives.

Jenna's heart was racing once she got on the main road away from the warehouse, and she hoped that nobody had been around to witness her turning the wrong way to head into town rather than further from it. She recalled all the lies she had spewed to Bane that morning, trying to figure out if she could actually avoided performing anything of them. She had wanted to go to her house originally to get one of her mother's old coats, but she feared that Bane would be able to know exactly all that she had done once she got back. So going home was out. She wasn't going to actually go to the diner, but she figured when she bought cigarettes she'd be able to purchase a small snack, so later she could avoid Bane catching her rummaging desperately through the food upstairs.

Jenna drove as quickly as she could to the store she had in mind, struggling between trying to remember where she was going, and all her usual driving difficulties. Rather than traveling under the speed limit, Jenna caught herself driving above it, but due to her time limit, this was something she had no time to worry about it.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, Jenna reached the store, and once she parked in the back, she took a deep breath before grabbing her purse and keys and stepping out of the vehicle. As she started toward the store, she couldn't help but to suspiciously look around, hoping that Bane hadn't sent somebody out to follow her. Her stomach dropped when the thought crossed her mind.

But during her long walk through the parking lot, she calmed herself down, convincing herself that Bane trusted her enough to not have to do that. Unfortunately, she grew completely worried and distraught on a new level when she realized she _was_, in fact, lying to Bane. _But it's all for a great cause, _she reminded herself. _Everything will be fine..._

Nobody seemed to pay her attention once she entered the store and began to seek out the coats. She had gone to a high end clothing and coats store, which sold everything from underwear to heavy winter jackets. The only reason Jenna knew about this store and what it sold was due to her parent's frequent purchases made here. Jenna had remembered this, and she decided to give it a try, hoping the store would sell what she was looking for.

It was as if fate was on her side that day, however, for Jenna's eyes had found what she was looking for. Displayed on a manikin, this coat was nearly similar to Bane's old jacket. It was complete with the same colored, thick leather, the white wool, two large cargo-like pockets, and a large collar. This particular coat, however, had a built in, thick leather belt around the bottom, and a smaller one up top by the collar. The only thing that upset Jenna was how much shorter the coat appeared to be. Recalling the picture, Jenna remember his old jacket to have ended just above the knee; this one ended just below the waist.

_It'll have to do_, Jenna told herself, hoping that Bane would appreciate her actions, and hopefully ignore the lies she had to tell him to get it. If he actually, really did care for her, somewhat, like she thought he did, then he would appreciate the coat, and understand her need to lie. _Fib_, Jenna said in her head as she circled around the coat, looking for a price tag. _They were just little fibs._

Fate was still with her, but Jenna became agitated when she discovered the amazing price of the coat. _Four thousand dollars? _She exclaimed in her head, flustered. Back then, this wouldn't have been a problem. Right now, however? Jenna didn't have anything close to that amount in her wallet. What was she supposed to do now?

There was only one option, really, if she wanted to get Bane the coat. She'd _have _to take a trip to her house and steal one of her parents debit cards. She swallowed. Jenna knew her house was the number one, forbidden place for her to go, but right now she didn't have a choice. The store began to spin as she tried to sort out her problem. Her first thought to calm herself down was figuring Bane wouldn't know the price, but the fact that he had had nearly the same jacket before lead her to know he'd have an idea, and she was certain he knew she wasn't carrying more than a thousand bucks with her. Now, in order to get him the coat, she'd have to lie _again_.

She went through her wallet, and although she knew she was not carrying any valid cards with her, she grew even more upset anyway. The only money card that was in her purse was an old Visa gift card. Jenna remained standing near the coat, staring at the floor as she thought.

Maybe she could go to her house faster than lightening, get the card, and if Bane asked, tell him the card was in the wallet the entire time. She was unsure if Bane had ever gone through her purse and wallet when he had confiscated it from her, but perhaps when she told him this, it would lead him to believe he had simply by-passed the card if he was looking. It meant feeding him _another _lie, but Jenna had never felt so determined to perform an act of kindness in her life. It had to be done.

A salesman was approaching her, and Jenna's heart began to race. She kept her head down, struggling to keep her eyes off of the man, but as soon as he spoke, no hint of him recognizing her in his voice, Jenna began to calm down.

"Good morning," the salesman said in a higher, cheery voice. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually," Jenna replied. "I'm interested in buying this coat." She glanced up, figuring it was safe to do, but she made a point to never look directly into the man's eyes.

"Hmm..." the salesman began slowly as he circled around the coat, and Jenna grew nervous. That wasn't a good sign. He ducked down to glance at the shelves the manikin stood on. "It looks like we're all out of this one..."

"What about the one on display?" Jenna pushed, thinking to herself how it was stupid to keep the coat on display if they were sold out. "Is that for sale?"

"Well..." the salesman began now, and Jenna felt her face redden in frustration. _I don't have all day, fucker_, she thought sourly as she struggled to keep her composure. "It's complicated," he went on. "For me to sell you this I'd have to charge you more-"

"That's fine," Jenna interrupted. "I'll take it."

"That's a little over _a thousand _more, ma'am," the salesman went on. "It's store policy when selling manikin items, since normally we don't sell the manikin items." His eyes wandered over Jenna, and although something about her looked familiar, he was mainly judging her, and he decided quickly that she didn't appear to be the type who could afford anything like this. He couldn't help but to be skeptical.

"I'll take it," Jenna repeated. Shouldn't this man want to sell it? It was worth a lot of money.

"For five thousand dollars?" He confirmed, doubt in his voice, and he waited for Jenna to change her mind.

"That's fine," she added. "Only, I have to run home to get my card. Could you _please _hold it for me until I get back?" She desperately wanted to look into the man's eyes to show him her sincerity, but she knew she couldn't.

"Yes," the man said. "But in twenty four hours if you're not back I have to put it back on display."

_Did you not just hear me? _Jenna thought. "I'll be back in like, half an hour," Jenna replied. "Thank you!"

"Of course," the salesman replied, and Jenna could tell he was still skeptical over her decision. But once he started to gently remove the jacket from the manikin, Jenna turned to rush out of the store.

The drive to her house was shorter than she could have anticipated (even after getting lost and having to find her way to the main road) and before she knew it she was parking in front of the gates. The house was barren, as was the complete area around it, and Jenna locked her purse in the car before she put the keys in her pocket and climbed over the fence with ease. She ran up to the front door, and made the mistake of forgetting to prepare herself when she pushed it open. Her father still lay exactly where he had been, but she tried to ignore this as she went up the stairs. The house reeked of death and blood, the smell making Jenna feel sick and dizzy, but she tried to ignore this as she rushed into her parents bedroom. How was it possible that they were _still _here? Was there any news coverage on any of their disappearances? _Probably,_ Jenna thought. But she hadn't seen the news in nearly two weeks now. _You think somebody would have found them_, she thought. Whatever, she went on in her head as she stepped in front of her parents dresser to go through her mother's purse. _As long as nobody comes here now, I'll be fine._

She felt odd going through her mother's purse, like she was betraying her in some way, but she had already betrayed her in a way nobody else would probably ever think about doing. Once Jenna found her mother's wallet, she immediately pulled out and started toward the door, only to pause when she remembered the need for her own coat. She turned to throw open her parent's closet, and she ventured toward the back where new clothes hung, the price tags still on them. Jenna had no time to be picky, she grabbed the first coat she saw, ripped off the tag, and turned to finally leave the house as quickly as she could. It was cold and unwelcome, and Jenna was positive she would vomit if she stayed any longer.

She was able to avoid site of her parents with ease as she ventured toward the front door, and for this, she was thankful. But nothing could have _ever _prepared her for what happened next.

Without thinking she threw open the door, only to jump and almost scream when she nearly ran into somebody. Her heart racing, once her mind finally cleared, she lifted her eyes up to stare at the person she had nearly run into. "_...Rodger?" _She whispered to herself, her eyes as wide as they could go.

"Jenna?" Rodger went on, just as stunned, his eyes just as wide. "Oh, my _God_! JENNA!" He yelled, stepping forward instantly to pull her into a hug. Jenna felt as lightheaded as ever, and as soon as Rodger squeezed his arms tightly around her, she absentmindedly began to struggle to free herself. Once Rodger felt this, he immediately let go, but he was too shocked and relieved to wonder about Jenna's actions. "Jenna, oh my God," he repeated again. "I was just walking by when I saw that car parked there, and I wanted to see who was finally home! What's been going on? Where have you been? I've been so worried! Have you gotten my texts?"

"Uhh..." Jenna began, feeling like she wanted to throw up again. How the _fuck _was she supposed to get herself out of this one? Now, she would be throwing _another _lie to Bane. Her mind was still racing as she turned to quickly close her door to hide site of her bloody parents from Rodger, and keep the smell from traveling outside and directly to his nose. "Just... um..."

"Jenna, you're all over the news still. Your parents too. What's going on? I can _hel_p you."

"Nothing," Jenna replied, unsure of what else to say. "I'm fine. We- _we're _fine..." she could feel her hands shaking, and once Rodger noticed this too, his eyebrows furrowed once he saw what she was holding. "Is that your mom's wallet?"

"No," Jenna lied. "It's mine. Rodger," she sighed. "Look, it's been good seeing you, I _miss _you, but I have to go."

"Jenna, wait." Rodger immediately reached out to place his hand on her shoulder and stop her from going past. Jenna sighed loudly again, annoyed due to his action, but she could feel time slipping away from her. "You're not acting like yourself. You've been declared missing now, you're parents as well. Where are they and where are you going? Please, let me help you. I know something is wrong, I... I-"

"Rodger, I'm _fine_," Jenna replied, feeling a pang go through her heart. "Look, I really need to go now."

"Jenna, please! Talk to me," Rodger began to follow her off of the porch.

"I can't Rodger, not today."

"When then?"

"Soon," Jenna lied. It hurt her to lie to him, but she had no other option.

"Jenna wait... just..." he reached out to stop her again, and Jenna tried to keep her patience when she allowed him to stop her. "Is everything okay? Really? None of this makes sense."

"Everything is okay," Jenna replied. "I... I can't explain right now. But I promise I'm fine." Sadly, this was true.

Rodger remained staring at her. "I just... I feel like if you go now, I'll never see you again. Everyone is really worried, Jenna."

"I'm fine."

"What about your parents?"

"They're fine," Jenna repeated.

"Are they inside?" Rodger pointed back to the house.

"N-no," Jenna replied. "They're... out of town."

"Where?"

"They didn't say." Jenna started down the driveway and toward the gates.

"They just left without telling you where? Jenna your gardener was on the news the other night, being interviewed about the Silvera family's _disappearance_. Police are going to-"

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK! _Jenna kept saying to herself the closer she got to the gate while Rodger continued to talk. Once she reached it, she immediately tossed over the coat and the wallet.

"Rodger, please," Jenna interrupted him. "Just... I have to go." Jenna quickly turned away from him and hopped over the fence, but once she landed, she saw that her mother's wallet had opened due to the impact when it hit the ground, and when she glanced up, she saw that Rodger was staring down at it, his eyes focused on her mother's license. Jenna quickly picked it up and hugged it against herself while she took out her keys.

"Jenna, wait!" Rodger was calling as he finally climbed the fence. "Where are you going? Who's car is that?" _Since when do you drive_? Rodger thought to himself. But Jenna was ignoring him, and it was only frightening Rodger more. Jenna quickly unlocked the Challenger and got in, and once she closed the door, she locked the doors just as Rodger had tried to open them up. He couldn't help but to slam his hand down onto the window, and when Jenna sadly glanced over at him, she couldn't believe how large the frown on his face was. She swallowed as she started the car.

_"Jenna! Jenna!" _Rodger's muffled voice was pleading. But Jenna had no choice but to ignore him. All she could manage to do was give him a sympathetic smile and mouth 'I'm sorry' before she sped away from him, forcing herself not to look back through the mirror as she drove.

She had to wonder if anybody else had this much bad luck. All she had wanted to do was pay Bane back for his caring act of kindness. But so far, everything that could possibly go wrong _was _going wrong. Her body continued to shake as she raced back to the store, wondering what Rodger was going to do about their random encounter. What were the chances of him seeing her, on this day especially? Whatever happened, Jenna hoped he wouldn't make a big deal of their meeting. But deep down, Jenna knew he would, and she knew eventually Bane would find out. She would have to text him later to beg him not to say or do anything about it, and promise him she'd explain later. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to do that.

She reached the store a little over the half an hour she had promised the salesman. Fortunately, he was waiting at the front, and he immediately recognized her when she walked in (he had remembered her ridiculous sense of style).

"Did you get the money?" he asked her politely, and he tried to hide how surprised he was when Jenna nodded. "Wonderful! I'll take you on register seven."

Jenna grew nervous as she now stood at the counter, waiting for him to ring up the coat, and as he told her the total and packed it away in a big, white, fancy box, Jenna wanted to die as she went through her mother's wallet, trying to decide the best way to pay. She pulled out her mother's debit card, and Jenna wondered if she swiped the card fast enough and collected the coat and receipt quickly, if she could avoid another confrontation.

"Cash, credit or debit?" The salesman asked finally once he had bagged the coat's box.

"Debit." Jenna smiled weakly as she began to swipe the card. When she was finished, she nervously waited for the receipt to print, and she immediately moved over to reach for the bag that held the box as the seconds passed by like hours.

"Okay! Have a wonderful day Miss...Silvera..." the salesman stated slowly once he had started to hand her the receipt, but he had paused abruptly when he read the name on it, and Jenna watched the realization flood his face. _Oh, my God,_she thought sadly and desperately to herself. All she wanted to do was something nice for a change! _Why the fuck is this happening? _She wondered desperately. "Jenna Silvera... you and your parents have been all over the news," he went on. "Did... did you know that?" Jenna could see how suspicious and freaked out he looked now.

"Y-yes," Jenna said. "My parents had to go out of town," she went on. "Um... it was so fast when they left, and they've been out of contact for a while. I'm starting to worry about them too..." Was this a good enough lie? It sounded absolutely awful to Jenna.

"You were seen at your father's dealership," the salesman went on. "Before it... before it was..."

"That wasn't me," Jenna quickly said. "I-I saw that, and that lady was confused. I haven't been to my dad's store in a while," Jenna laughed, the entirely wrong thing to do. Now, the salesman appeared even more confused. It grew incredibly silent as he stared at her, and finally Jenna couldn't take it anymore. "Thank you, for holding this," she said, quickly grabbing the receipt from him, and before the salesman could say anything else, Jenna was rushing toward the front doors, able to feel the man's eyes on her. Now, she had _two _people to worry about. Now, Bane would definitely know.

Jenna managed to leave the city safely and easily, and on the way home, a thought had occurred to her. She had told Bane she was going to a store to get herself a coat. This situation could have happened anywhere, and she knew him to know this. _One less lie_, she told herself as she continued the drive. But her body continued to shake slightly due to the rest of the lies she had spewed.

–

Jenna made it back to the warehouse just minutes before her time limit was up, and after going back and forth to the store, having to stop at her house, dealing with Rodger, and waiting in a long line to get a pack of cigarettes at the gas station, Jenna counted herself somewhat lucky, although luck had been against her all day so far. The outside of the warehouse was barren, and Jenna was thankful for this as she stuffed her mother's coat and wallet into the bag Bane's coat was in. She held it closed at the top, and once the car was shut and locked, she started over toward the exit door.

The basement was dark and desolate, as always, and as Jenna moved down the stairs quietly, she was happy to see Bane's door was shut. This gave her just enough time to hide his coat somewhere, and hide her mother's wallet. She moved as quietly past his door as she could, but she cursed to herself when her own door squeaked as she pushed it open. She didn't bother to close it, and instantly she sprinted into her room, falling to her knees in front of the cot a moment later, and once she pulled out her coat and the wallet, she placed the plastic bag behind her bag of clothes underneath the cot. Just when she heard Bane's door open, she immediately moved to place her mother's wallet in her purse, and she closed her purse before throwing it down on the floor. Just as Bane stepped up to her door, he found her to be looking over a new black coat, her back to him as she stood in front of her cot.

"Where did you go to get that?" Bane asked as he took a step into her room. Jenna swallowed, her eyes wandering over the coat while her heart raced.

"I can't remember the name of the place. I just went in," Jenna said, hoping he wouldn't ask anything further. In his mind, Bane was picturing a few stores that were located on the way to that diner Barsad went to, and buying this, he nodded.

"That's a pretty... _exuberant _jacket you've purchased," Bane pointed out as he stepped closer to her, and Jenna began to grow nervous as she wondered if he knew something was up. Did any of the shops around here even sell anything like it? "I wouldn't have expected for you to get one like this." His eyes wandered over the tight, leather body of the coat, and the large area of fuzzy, black wool that framed the entire front of it, where the collars would be.

"Yeah..." Jenna went on, finally realizing how exuberant the coat really was. _Shit... _"I just sorta... picked one."

"Well, try it on!" Bane spoke up suddenly, taking a step back from her, and Jenna couldn't help but to jump at his loud voice before she turned to face him, her eyes quickly flickering over the black t-shirt that covered his torso. "I'm sure it fits you well, otherwise you wouldn't have _purchased_ it, correct?"

Jenna knew she had the word 'guilty' written all over her face. All she could do was nod. Did he know she was lying? Or was he simply testing her to see if she'd break, for whatever reason? Jenna wanted to believe her last theory, and she tried to remain strong as she started to put on the coat. Fortunately, the coat was just the right size, though unfortunately, the wool in the front felt very uncomfortable against her. Jenna would have never picked a jacket like this to wear all of the time, but regardless, she tried to appear comfortable. She smiled slightly at Bane as she quickly rose her arms up.

"Fits fine," she said. "Just like it did in the... store." What a _terrible _thing to add on. Bane was studying her figure in it, and Jenna sucked in a sharp breath when he reached out toward her while taking a step closer. He took hold of both the leather straps on either side of the coat before he pulled on them, tightening the coat around Jenna, and she glanced away from him as he went about tying them together at the side, just under her right arm. Once he was done, he took a small step back.

"You appear uncomfortable," he pointed out once he had studied her another moment longer. For the first time in a while, Jenna wished he would just leave. She couldn't take being tested any longer.

"No, I like it," she argued, fighting the urge to want to fix the wool in front, and do something with the annoying leather straps to tie the coat. "It was the only one I could find. The rest were bright and... ugly."

Bane was nodding slowly. She appeared to be telling the truth, though at the same time she _had _grown incredibly nervous. But Bane figured this had merely been due to his actions with tying her coat, for standing so close to her had awoken that animalistic side of him, as well. Maybe he could trust Jenna after all.

"Well, it does fit you rather well," he complimented, his words taking Jenna by surprise, and she felt her face reddening. Without another word, Bane finally turned to leave, and once he had exited her room, Jenna let out a sigh of relief as she finally undid the coat. It appeared as though Bane believed her, though knowing him, she couldn't be exactly sure...

She set the coat down on the cot before she sat down on it, trying to figure out when it would be a good time to give Bane his. She decided she would wait until he was through with acting suspicious with her, and questioning her. _When the time is right, _Jenna told herself.

–

The rest of the day passed quickly. After smoking a few times in her new coat – which she found to be rather warm, surprisingly – when it was nearly five o' clock she ventured upstairs for a shower, figuring it would be a good way to pass the time. She had taken her time with enjoying the hot water, shaving and washing her hair, but just as she started to condition it, she heard a series of loud pounds on the door. She froze, her heart skipping several beats, and waited, figuring that it would be Bane. She grew nervous, what if he had found out something, but when a different voice called through the door, Jenna became nervous in a whole new way.

_"Who's in there?" _She heard an unfamiliar voice call out. When she didn't answer right away, whoever was on the other side of the door began to try and turn the handle.

"Me!" Jenna called frantically, unsure of what else to say. She knew now it was one of Bane's thugs, but all she wanted was for them to go away, especially when she was in such a vulnerable state.

_"Man, are you fucking kidding me?" _She could barely hear him say. _"You know there's only three bathrooms around here! Two of which we're allowed to use! You mind hurrying the fuck up?" _The man began to try the door again, and Jenna could tell how angry he was. His actions, however, made her just as upset. The last thing she needed was any one of Bane's men barging into the bathroom when she was showering.

"I'll be finished in a minute!" She called back loudly. "Go away!"

She heard the man growl before he finally went away. Her heart still racing as she rinsed, Jenna began to fear she would be experiencing a heart attack at any moment now. Her heart had been racing all damn day, it seemed.

She rushed with rinsing her hair, and rather than getting dressed, she wrapped herself up in a towel and gathered her clothes in her arms before immediately going to exit the bathroom, her hair dripping down her back and onto the towel. She was shocked to see someone unfamiliar waiting outside of the door, and when the he glared at her, she figured it was the man that had been hassling her. Jenna didn't waste her time with staring him down, but she could feel his eyes on her as she immediately rushed down the stairs to go into the semi-safety of her own room to get dressed. Within his room, however, Bane had heard her approaching, and just as she started past, he called out her name. Jenna stopped in her tracks suddenly, just a few feet from her door, before she slowly turned to back up and glance into his room. She hadn't even noticed his door was open.

"Yes?" She asked, leaning over awkwardly as to not expose her entire body. Just as she had leaned in, Bane was already turning around.

"Come in here," he commanded. Jenna swallowed. _Why_? She wondered to herself. Did Bane know about one of her lies? All of her lies? Jenna was frowning as she fixed her towel, and once she had tightened it around herself, feeling her hair leave water droplets behind her, she finally stepped into his room.

"What?" She asked, trying to sound as casual as she could. Bane turned around completely now, ready to tell he what he wanted, but he paused once his eyes found Jenna's body. He couldn't stop himself from looking her up and down slowly, and savoring all the little details about her appearance, like how she clutched the towel closed directly over her breasts, and how the two ends barely overlapped enough to cover her front. He noticed her hair leaving water droplets onto the concrete floor, and when his eyes wandered back up slowly, he could tell how low the towel was dipping from behind. Finally, once his eyes met hers, he remembered what he had wanted to say.

"Upon investigating your theory concerning Karly," he began, trying to rid his mind of the lewd fantasies that had been quick to come upon him. "We found part of it to be true."

"Which part?" Jenna wondered, silently sighing in relief.

"She picked up a man named Lewis Warner from the airport," he informed. "And they took a taxi back to her hotel."

"I told you," Jenna said as she rolled her eyes. "That bitch is fuckin-"

"I know, Jenna, I know," Bane interrupted. "If you would just let me finish..." he paused, waiting to see if she'd interrupt again, but when she remained silent, he finally went on as he sat up awkwardly in his desk chair. "I'd like to thank you."

"For what?" Jenna asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"For informing me of her disloyalty," he said. "It's something... it _was _something... I didn't expect you to do."

"Oh," Jenna said back slowly. "Of course," she added, sounding more sincere than she had meant. The room became silent for a short moment. After Jenna had responded, Bane had turned around to start looking over whatever he had been on his desk, and Jenna began to wonder if now would be an ideal time to give him the coat. He was usually always patient and in a rather good mood around her lately, but due to Jenna's realization, now the patience and the steady mood seemed more meaningful. Adding on to that, Bane had actually, genuinely _thanked _her for informing him of her doubts about Karly. At one point, Jenna feared Bane would see past her true concern as being superficial, since Bane knew how much Jenna didn't like Karly, but she had surprised not only Bane, but herself, when she grew truly concerned about her actions.

Finally, Jenna couldn't take it anymore. She had to give it to him.

"Will you still be here, in maybe... five minutes?" Jenna asked suddenly, her question catching Bane off guard, and he turned to glance over at her, his brow furrowed.

"Yes...?" His answer sounded more like a question. "Why?"

"Because... I..." Jenna could feel herself getting more and more nervous. "Just... you'll see. I'll be right back."

She turned to leave without another word, but rather than Bane focusing on how low her towel _did _dip, her sudden behavior had him more curious than ever. He would see? See what?

Jenna dressed quickly in a pair of sweat pants and a white tank top before she ran the towel over her hair vigorously to at least get it to stop dripping. She combed her fingers through her hair to get it to lay right around her face before she pushed her bangs out of her face, and with a deep, shaky breath she knelt down in front of the cot to move her bag of clothes away. She grew even more nervous when she laid her aqua eyes on the bag containing Bane's coat, and she couldn't help but to start to second guess herself. Was this a stupid idea? Was it embarrassing? Was it all for nothing? Was it worth all the lies? _It doesn't matter_, Jenna thought. She had already said too much and heightened his curiosity. Now, she _had _to give it to him.

Bane couldn't take the curiosity; his wonder had lead him out of his room and heading toward Jenna's door, and when he slowly eased her door open with his foot, Jenna realized she hadn't even closed the door all the way upon hearing the squeak. Her heart was pounding with anxiety, but upon thinking how embarrassing it would have been to be caught getting dressed, giving Bane the coat didn't seem _as _embarrassing.

"What are you _doing_?" Bane asked as he waited just beyond the door frame in her room, his eyes narrowed on her as Jenna began to pull out a bag from under her cot. His first instincts were to grow angry at her hiding something –what the _fuck _was she keeping in that bag– but he immediately calmed himself down, deciding to give her a chance.

"I want to give you something," Jenna replied as she removed the white box from the bag. _Give me something? _Bane repeated as his brow furrowed again. What did she possibly have to _give _him? And where she had gotten it?

Jenna was forcing her actions at this point. She forced herself to remove the box completely, she forced herself to stand up with it, and she forced herself to turn around and face him.

"You're not allowed to ask how I got it," Jenna said, deciding bluntly telling him that would be easier than hoping to avoid the questions. This bewildered Bane further, however; Jenna could see the raging wonder in his eyes, and she could also make out what appeared to be slight frustration.

"Why?" Bane finally asked, skeptical now.

"Because it's not important," Jenna replied once she had reached him, and she took a deep breath. Bane still wanted to be angry at her secrecy, but he could easily determine the hard time Jenna was currently having with whatever she was giving him. He remained patient, his body still determined to give her a chance. "By not making me go with everyone last night... I realized that you sorta... saved my life," Jenna finished in a slight mumble, her gaze dropping from his just as Bane reached out for the box. "And I wanted to... repay you. Somehow." God, she felt like an idiot. Was Bane too monstrous to appreciate good deeds? _Fucking probably... _Jenna thought sadly. Suddenly she wished she had never even bothered.

Jenna let her fingers slip off of the box slowly when Bane had taken a hold of it, and without hesitation he lifted off the lid just as slowly, anticipating to see in the box what he decided was probably something ridiculous. But once his eyes fell onto the brown leather of the folded coat, and the off-white wool on the exposed collars on top, he froze completely. Jenna was watching his expressions, trying to determine what was running through his mind, but when she couldn't tell, she immediately began to speak.

"The coat that you had... I felt like you missed it more than you let on, so I bought you another one." Jenna swallowed before quickly going on. "I wanted to repay you, and this was the first thing I thought of doing," she went on just as Bane started to pull out the heavy coat from the large box, his eyes wandered all over it as he held it from the top, the sleeves hanging lamely on either side. "It's stupid..." Jenna added as she finally glanced away, wanting to melt and evaporate away so she could avoid whatever was coming.

"It's not stupid," Bane mumbled, his eyes still fixed on the jacket. "Jenna, it's..." his eyes continued to wander all over it, and suddenly he was overcome with intense appreciation. He began to shake his head. "Thank you..." he was unsure of what else to say, but Jenna had glanced up at him due to his words. The last thing Bane had ever wanted was to become sentimental with Jenna, and upon realizing that Jenna knew the deeper meaning behind his actions of keeping her at the warehouse, and saving her from an inevitable death, he wanted to be angry at this, but Jenna doing something this kind for him unfortunately meant a lot. Bane wasn't a man to cherish such material items, but admittedly he had greatly admired his coat. It was the first thing he had gotten upon his arrival to Gotham, and after being forced to get rid of it, he found himself shallowly wishing he still had it sometimes. Although this coat was a little shorter, it practically _was _the same coat. He figured Jenna had picked up on the hidden tones in his voice when she asked him about it.

"This means a lot," he finally went on, his eyes finding hers, and he immediately noticed how worried she looked. He couldn't help but to smile. "You can stop worrying, Jenna, really. I appreciate this."

So Bane _was _capable of appreciation. This thought caused Jenna to smile in relief. "It's a serious thank you for what you did for me. Nobody has ever looked out for me like that. Like, ever." Jenna forced herself to shut up before she could start rambling again.

Under his mask, Bane was still smiling. "You know I have to ask," he began as he let the box finally drop to the floor, and he turned the coat over in his hands to glance at the back before his eyes slowly wandered over to Jenna's. "Where you _actually_ got this."

Jenna frowned. "No," she replied as she glanced away. "You're not allowed to know." Her tone was playful, but Bane knew she was being serious.

"Yes I am," Bane replied, his eyes fixed intently on her, and once Jenna's eyes met his, he went on. "Tell me where and how."

"You'll be mad," Jenna accused, feeling lightheaded when she realized how childish she had become now. "I mean-" she began to correct, but Bane was interrupting her.

"I won't be mad," he assured, and terrifyingly, this was true. "Tell me," he prompted.

Jenna sighed. "I had to go to the city, to a store I figured would sell something like that."

Bane was nodding. "And how did you buy it?"

Jenna felt dizzy. "My mom's debit card," Jenna replied. "I had it in my wallet..." she waited nervously, anticipating for Bane to pick up on her lie, but he merely nodded.

"And it was that easy?" he prompted on, knowing there was more to the story. What would make the difference is if Jenna actually admitted to it.

"Yes," she replied, but when Bane's eyes narrowed she quickly went on. "And no... the cashier guy knew who I was, by the last name. He was... pretty freaked out."

"I'd imagine he would be. You've been accused of assisting a robbery, and enough time has passed for officers to begin an official search for you and your family. I imagine they'll be finding your parents any day now."

Jenna swallowed and merely nodded, but her actions brought a thought to Bane's mind.

"You didn't go to your house... did you?"

_Fuck! _"No," she replied as sternly as she could. "I went to town, came back to the other store, went to the diner and gas station and came back here. I... promise."

This satisfied Bane, and he glanced away from her to look at the coat again. "I believe you," he said, his words only making Jenna feel worse. "There will be no more trips into town now, however," he added.

"That's fine," Jenna replied. "I got what I needed." She couldn't help but to smile. The tension in the air was thick, but this time around it was more of a welcoming tension. Jenna felt great about doing this now, and Bane couldn't help but to feel pleased with his decision to save her. He greatly disliked how he was feeling toward her, but he knew it was something he couldn't help, and because of this, he knew it was something he would have to start accepting. Jenna's loyalties to him had increased severely, as did her honesty, but it was clear to Bane now that whatever feelings he had for Jenna, she was sharing them with him. _How sick. _

The moment was interrupted, however, when Jenna noticed Isaac making his way down the stairs and directly toward her room when he saw Bane inside of it. She watched him stop by the doorway before he leaned into the room.

"More are back," he informed Bane, and he turned around immediately once Isaac began to speak. "Ten more casualties. Three made it back, and the whereabouts of four others are unknown currently."

"Who just arrived?" Bane asked.

"Hendricks, Anderson, and Bailey," Isaac replied. Bane nodded before he turned around. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Jenna, his way of letting her know that he'd be back in a minute, and once Jenna nodded in understanding, a small smile on her face, Bane proceeded to follow Isaac out of the room, their tactical, war talk boring Jenna to the point of her not caring to listen.

Telling Bane of the mishap that happened at the store made her feel as though her other, smaller lies weren't as terrible as she had first made them out to be. Deep down, however, she felt relieved when she figured Bane thought that was the only bad thing had that happened, and she felt as though this truth would divert him from asking about anything else. Her stomach dropped, though, when she remembered Rodger. Recalling the situation made her feel sick and sad, but she could never tell Bane that. That would involve telling him she had to go to her house first, and she had already told him she hadn't. Remembering this, she instantly thought back to her desires to plead Rodger not to say anything. _Just a quick text_, Jenna thought as she closed her door before she plopped down onto her stomach on the cot, and she reached under the pillow to turn on her phone, hoping she had enough time to do this before Bane returned. In the text, she would tell Rodger she was okay, tell him to _please _not go to anyone about their meeting, and then remind him again that she was fine, and she'd talk to him as soon as she could.

Bane had put on his new coat as he ascended the stairs toward the exit door, and he was pleased to discover the coat blocked out the wind and cold effortlessly, while trapping warmness inside. The jacket was big and roomy, and fit him like a charm, just like his previous one had, and upon realizing this he couldn't help but to grow more appreciative towards Jenna's kind act. Thinking about it still, her heartfelt act made him feel a _little _bit better about what he had done for her; now, at least, the feelings were mutual. Repeating this thought in his head helped him to believe this made his feelings more acceptable.

When Isaac had asked about the coat, recognizing it to look like Bane's previous coat, Bane had simply replied that Jenna got it for him. Isaac had no desire to ask why, he knew he wouldn't get an answer, so instead, as they headed toward the garage, he let his mind ponder theories as to why she had...

The meeting outside went by quick. Bane confirmed for himself who had made it back, and he told the rest to sit tight; if the others made it back, then great. If not, then it was time for new recruitment. Not even five minutes later Bane was turning to head back to the warehouse, Jenna clouding his mind. As he approached the door, he was overcome with the desire to 'properly' thank her, and once this thought entered his mind, he had a hard time desiring anything else.

Jenna hadn't even been able to send the text before she heard someone –Bane, most likely– coming back downstairs. She had been letting notifications of texts from Rodger and missed calls to buzz through, but just as they ended, she found herself placing her phone back under her pillow before she sat up in the bed, and as soon as she had, her door opened before Bane started to make his way inside, and her heart skipped a beat when Bane immediately closed the door.

"I figured you would like to see if your money was well spent," Bane started as he stepped further into the room, Jenna's eyes wandering over the coat that covered him, and she had to admit it did fit him rather well. This pleased her, but she tried to hold back her all knowing smile.

"Was it?" She asked back simply, her eyes meeting his, but when Bane looked into them, he could immediately see the want they held.

"You tell me," he retorted as he took another step closer to her, and Jenna absentmindedly stood up just when he had reached her. His sudden desires were unmissable, they radiated off of him like a sweet cologne, and Jenna bit her lip as she inched her way closer to him. The fact that they were both feeling the same way encouraged her to lift her hands and run her fingers down the soft wool on the folded back flaps of the coat, and just before she could take her hands away when they reached the bottom, Bane lifted his own hands to take a firm hold of her wrists. Jenna gasped slightly, her eyes raising to look into his as he stared intently down at her, waiting to see what her next actions would be.

"It looks good," she finally said, feeling dizzy. Bane didn't reply as he continued to glare down at her. He considered moving this into his room, but suddenly he didn't feel like prolonging the moment. Without warning, he released her wrists just as suddenly as he had grabbed them, and he gently placed his hands on Jenna's waist before he turned them around so he could back up toward the cot. He lowered himself slowly to sit down on the edge of the cot, and as he did so he pulled Jenna down with him. She spread her legs and immediately sat down on his lap, straddling him, and as Bane began to take his new coat off Jenna couldn't stop herself from running her nails down his chest and over his smooth black t-shirt. Once his coat was off, Jenna immediately moved her hands onto his arms, and as her fingers roamed over the fine dips and curves of his muscles, Bane let his jacket fall gently to the ground before he took a hold of Jenna's hips again. She couldn't help but to smile and squeal quietly in joy as Bane swiftly moved into a laying down position, all while keeping Jenna on top of him the entire time. He was grinning, and Jenna couldn't help but to laugh slightly as well as she lowered herself down to bring her lips closer to his neck. Her laughing died down into a sultry chuckle before her lips made contact with his skin, and Bane couldn't help but to sigh when Jenna bit down on his flesh. While her upper half was pressed firmly against his chest, her hips were raised high, held up by her knees, and Bane couldn't help but to lift his head up slightly to glance down her back and admire how her ass looked from this angle. Jenna ran her hands up his bare arms before they disappeared under the sleeves of his t-shirt, and as she dug her nails into his shoulders and traced her bite marks with her tongue, Bane reached out to place both of his hands on her ass, as far as he could reach. Jenna groaned against him, encouraging them both further, and she slid her finger tips down his arms before she found the bottom of his shirt, and she hungrily began to tug it upwards.

Bane leaned up slightly, and once the shirt had gone over his chest, he assisted her with removing his arms from the sleeves, and he carelessly tossed it toward the door. He took a firm hold of Jenna's hips, and he dug his own fingers into the skin there as he laid back down, Jenna's lips back on his neck, and she couldn't help but to groan loudly when she felt his fingers slip under her sweat pants in the back. As Jenna bit him again, his fingers found her thong, and he continued to stare down her back as he pulled it upward, and he stared at her tiny, red underwear from above her pants.

"Oh, God," he mumbled incredibly quietly, his mask making the words sound like some sort of deep grumble, but Jenna had heard what he said, and she couldn't help but to press herself against him even more, her want for him growing each passing second. Bane had pulled up the strings of her underwear up onto her hips, and he had just taken a firm hold of them again as Jenna began to leave a trail of kisses down his neck, heading toward his collar bones, when suddenly the sound and feeling of a vibration rattled his head from underneath the pillow. Jenna had heard this too, and she felt herself go white, her lips instantly ceasing their movements. Bane stayed perfectly still under her for a moment, his hands still on her hips, though he had loosened his grip severely, and suddenly all he could see was red, his lustful urges shattering away like broken glass. He sat up suddenly, Jenna nearly falling off of him and the cot, and before she could say or do anything, Bane was throwing her pillow off of the cot. Jenna felt her heart skip several beats when Bane laid his eyes on her cell phone, the screen glowing brightly in the dimness of the room, and suddenly Bane had no idea what to do. Jenna had been _lying _to him this whole time. How had he not _known_? How could he have been so stupid?

He released a furious breath as he picked up the phone, and he pressed the button to read the message from Rodger.

_"Look Jenna, it was just really weird seeing you again today. I've been going to your house a lot lately, just waiting to see when somebody was home, and seeing you there... it was just... I don't know. You told me everything was fine, but I just _know _it's not. PLEASE call me. Please."_

Jenna felt like crying as she watched Bane read the message, the phone tiny in comparison of his large hand, and the tension grew thick the longer Bane just sat there, his eyes focused on the phone. Jenna was sure he never even blinked.

Bane's mind was running wild with angry thoughts. Jenna had lied to him. She had lied to him about disposing her phone, she had lied when she claimed she hadn't gone to her house, and she had even contacted Rodger before with it, another lie, because she never _told _him about it. Too angry to talk or to even touch Jenna in any way at the moment, Bane instantly turned his body to stand up furiously from the cot.

"Wait!" Jenna immediately began as she scrambled to stand up while Bane headed toward the door, his footsteps heavy and furious. "Bane, please! Let me explain!"

"You lied," Bane said, and Jenna felt her body freeze over at his tone. It was heavy with anger and disappointment, and it carried the strongest, threatening tone she had ever heard in her life. He turned to face her slightly as he came to a slow halt in his tracks. "As I've told you, lying is _not __tolerated_ around here."

Jenna's mouth was hanging open as she desperately tried to find the words she wanted to speak and the words Bane needed to hear, but she felt her throat close when she watched Bane squeeze his fingers around her phone, and she watched it start to shatter and crumble in his hands. Bane made it look so easy. He had glared at her so many times before, but never this intently or seriously, and Jenna felt as though his piercing, angry eyes were burning holes into her. Her eyes wandered back and forth from his eyes to her phone, and she jumped when Bane suddenly slammed the phone pieces onto the ground, the noise nearly as loud as fireworks, it seemed. He began to turn around, but Jenna couldn't stand the anger that was being directed at her. All she desperately wanted to was to explain herself.

"Bane, please!" She called as she lunged herself further toward him. She reached up and out to try and grab his shoulder to stop him just as he had opened the door. "Just let me-"

She was cut off instantly when Bane turned around slightly. Swiftly, he took a told of her arm, her fingers on him only fueling his anger, and in blind rage he squeezed on her arm before he slammed the middle of it against the protruding corner of the wall just before the door, and as soon as he had, Jenna's ear-shattering screams filled the entire warehouse upon the bones in arm being broken directly in half. Bane released her freshly broken arm and proceeded unsparingly through the door as Jenna fell to her knees, trying to find a way to deal with this unbearable pain. Pain shot up and down her arm as it throbbed, and she had no choice but to let it hang lamely in front of her, over her bent legs, and she couldn't help but to glance up to watch Bane proceed angrily toward the stairs to exit the basement. Tears welled up in her eyes, but Jenna would not allow them to fall. Her throat felt swelled up, and she had a difficult time breathing as she began to shake, the action only hurting her arm worse. She was gasping for air as she sat there, her eyes closed tight, and she clenched her teeth together as she squeezed her eyes closed tighter. She knew finally how badly she had fucked up. She had stupidly never expected Bane to get so angry over her phone. She realized now, as she continued to sit on the floor and hold her arm, that she was most likely only mere moments away from dying in Bane's hands..

**Shit's gettin real, yo. Please review! Add me on Facebook, you can see my Bane and Joker tattoos! Also, check out my website, there's a lot of cool stuff on there! (both links can be found on my profile.) Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!**  
**Also, college does start for me again tomorrow, so currently I'm unsure of the time in between posts. But regardless, rest assured this story will reach its completion :)**


	16. Welcome Back

The longer Jenna sat on the cold floor, the more consuming and overwhelming the pain became. She had kept her eyes closed for however long she had been sitting there, tears spilling down her face, pain radiating from her arm and shooting throughout her entire body, and it was starting to become nearly unbearable as frantic thoughts raced around in her head. _Maybe it's not as bad as you think,_ a more rational side of her expressed through all the pain. _Just look at it... it's probably just... sprained or something..._ Finally, a few long moments later, Jenna slowly opened her eyes and allowed herself to glance down at her arm through her tears, only to immediately wish she hadn't. The middle of her right arm curved to the right abnormally, and at that moment Jenna realized the severity of her condition. What did this mean now? What was she to do?

She turned her head away from her arm, still unable to fathom Bane's actions, but just when she began to assume Bane would not be returning, and she'd be forced to sit there and deal with the massive problem herself, she heard lighter footsteps coming down the stairs. Frowning, she glanced up and out of the door, and she grew confused and slightly relieved when she saw Isaac heading her way. Was he going to help her? He appeared to look serious, but when he got closer, the concern in his eyes was unmissable. Jenna remained holding her arm as Isaac stepped through the door frame before immediately kneeling down to her level, his boots squeaking slightly as he did so. Jenna expected him to ask what happened, but he confused her further when he reached out to take a very loose and gentle hold of her arm.

"Let me see," he said, his eyes focused intently on the limb. Jenna immediately allowed him to do what he needed as she glanced away, unsure of why she was so trusting toward him after all that he had said to her. But it appeared as though he had already been informed of the situation. Why else would he have come inside to head directly to her? Jenna recalled his sights already focused on her inside the room. Had Bane told him what happened? Had Bane told him to help her? _Fuck no_, Jenna thought. _Of course not... he probably heard the screams..._

Jenna flinched and yelped suddenly when new-found, stronger pain sprang from her arm and through her body, and she jumped, worsening it as she glanced back to Isaac.

"God it fucking hurts," Jenna complained through clenched teeth. Isaac remained serious, but he shocked Jenna when he kept a hold of her broken arm and placed his other hand on the side of her body.

"Alright, c'mon," he started as he began to stand, helping Jenna to do the same. "We'll go take care of it."

Jenna's brow furrowed as she allowed him to help her stand. Her lips parted, but before she could ask or say anything, Isaac was already leading her out of her room and toward the stairs to exit the basement. At first, when they reached the top of the stairs, Jenna expected Isaac to lead her outside toward the garages, but she became slightly curious when they walked past the exit door to head toward the fridge and counter. Isaac turned suddenly, revealing a hallway across from the bathroom door that Jenna had never paid much attention to before, but when she saw stairs up ahead she realized finally she would get to see what the upper level looked like. Isaac stopped next to a metal latter built against the wall across from the stairs, and he turned to face Jenna.

"You think you can climb up that?" He wondered. Jenna glanced up the ladder, it didn't seem that high, and she weakly nodded.

"Why?" She couldn't help but to ask before she moved toward it.

"All my supplies are in my room, and it's easier if I fix you up in there."

Supplies? Fix her up? Was Isaac going to fix this? _Why_? Jenna wondered as she finally placed her left hand onto the ladder.

"Keep your arm over your chest, just like that," Isaac advised. "_Don't_ let it move."

Frowning, Jenna gritted her teeth as she began up the ladder, struggling not to fall or move her arm. Isaac moved behind her, ready to catch her if she was to fall, but he remembered how she had climbed the gates in front of her house with ease, and the way she had hopped the fence surrounding the stairs outside when she had tried to run away. He knew climbing a ladder one-handed would be easy for Jenna, and before he knew it he was stepping onto the floor of the small area in front of his room. Jenna was waiting for him, and she didn't move until Isaac started over to his door. Jenna didn't move immediately, though, and instead she took a look around her surroundings. Currently, she was in a tiny, carpeted area before a door on the wall, and upon turning around, directly diagonal from her in a separated area was the space of the upstairs (where the actual stairs led up to), isolated by a large space and a sort of fence around it. As she stared at the large TV, pool table and couches, she figured that was the area the other thugs hung out in, and now she realized the ladder led up to Isaac's own area of the warehouse.

Once Jenna heard his door open, she quickly turned to follow him into his room, and she couldn't help but to instantly glance around, sniffling once she did. All around his room –sitting on top of shelves, mounted to the wall, laying nicely on his floor and resting against furniture– was nothing but various types of guns and odd-looking weapons Jenna had never seen before. She had immediately stopped walking in the little walkway of sorts the guns laying on the floor and against the furniture had created, feeling as though if she was to walk too close to one it would go off. She lifted her eyes from the floor to glance at the shelves all around, her blue orbs wandering over the various knives and handguns that sat on top of them. Meanwhile, Isaac had proceeded past her to head into another door, and when Jenna glanced in the direction, her eyes falling on a tiled floor just beyond the door, she discovered it was a bathroom when she heard a sink running. A short moment later, Isaac exited the bathroom, a black medical bag in his right hand and a small bucket of water in his left, and he stepped past Jenna again to set the bag down on the bed before he sat down himself, placing the bucket of water on the floor before him. A few seconds later he glanced over to Jenna and raised his eyebrows.

"C'mon," he said, nodding toward the head of his bed, signaling for Jenna to sit down. "The faster we do this, the better."

Frowning, Jenna carefully wandered over to his bed, and she couldn't help her racing heart as she sat down. "Why do you get the nice room?" Jenna asked in a rude mumble as she fixed her position on the soft mattress. Inside, she cursed to herself. Why did her terrible tones always come out during the worst times? Here Isaac was, finally talking to her, and _helping _her, after he said he wouldn't. Jenna wanted to take back what she had said, but Isaac was already answering by the time she turned to look at him.

"Because I do the most work around here," Isaac returned as he rummaged through the bag, bringing out foreign items Jenna had never seen before. Jenna sighed as she glanced away.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, and when Isaac glanced up at her he saw her to be shaking her head in frustration. "I didn't mean to sound like that." If there was anything that Jenna needed at this point, it was a friend. Bane was out of the picture currently, Jenna didn't even want to think about him, and more than anything she did not want to be alone either. The last thing she needed to be doing right now was pushing Isaac even further away from herself. At this point, she needed him.

Isaac couldn't help but to grin sheepishly before he glanced back down to make sure he taken out everything he needed from the bag. He never responded to Jenna, but her apology hadn't gone unappreciated. Truth was it was refreshing seeing Jenna start to take responsibility for her actions. Isaac figured it was safe to assume Jenna still needed improvement, but apologizing for her tone was a good start.

It was funny, Isaac had actually been thinking about Jenna before Bane had stormed out of the warehouse and stomped over to him. He had been doing some more work on the interior of the Challenger, and as he worked he recalled how disgusted Jenna had been about being inside the car. Now that she was constantly driving it around, Isaac figured she had gotten used to it, and he was sure that she was appreciative of the inside coming together. At that point, Isaac had heard the exit door slam, and he glanced up to stare out of the back windshield, figuring it was one of Bane's other thugs coming out for a cigarette to smoke their anger away, but he knew immediately something was terribly wrong as Bane stormed over to him. He stopped what he was doing quickly and began to lean out of the car, and as soon as he was standing, Bane approached him. Judging by the way he kept his eyes focused down, and the fact that Bane didn't immediately announce what the problem was, Isaac knew it was safe to assume it all began and ended with Jenna. Regardless, he kept quiet and waited for his boss to speak first.

"I need you to go inside," Bane finally began, his voice more of a mumble rather than a loud, commanding tone. "...and do something about Jenna's arm."

Isaac's brow had furrowed by this point, and he knew it was safe for him to ask his question now. "Her arm? What happened?"

"I broke it," Bane replied as he clenched his fists harder, and finally he glanced up to Isaac. "She lied to me."

Isaac couldn't help but to be surprised. It was becoming more clear to him everyday: something about Jenna really got to Bane. She had lied? Lied about what? What could she have lied about to make Bane angry enough to break her arm? _Why _was Bane allowing himself to get so angry, but even more so, why hadn't he killed her over this? Isaac knew these questions were not important to him right now, so without another word he instantly started inside to do what he had been told.

Now, in his room, Isaac was placing the bag on the floor, and Jenna glanced over to him as he scooted closer to her. He was reaching out to her arm, and Jenna allowed his fingers to touch her, trusting that he would be gentle enough not to hurt her, but as Isaac began to ease her arm away from her body and place his other hand on the opposite side of the curve, Jenna immediately began to pull back, her eyes wide.

"No," she said sternly as she continued to try and take her arm back without hurting it any more than it already was. "It hurts."

"Jenna, I need to set the bones back in place before I can go on."

"_No_," Jenna replied, the images that were coming to her mind sickening. Jenna had already experienced the bane of them breaking in the first place, now she had to deal with that pain again? _It's unnecessary_, she thought. Isaac kept a firm hold on her arm, refusing to let her back away from him anymore.

"You're tougher than that, Jenna, c'mon," he went on.

"Tough has nothing to do with it, Isaac, I–"

"Look, you brought this all on yourself," Isaac interrupted. "You're the one who lied to Bane, and now you have to deal with the repercussions. I'm just trying to _help _you, Jenna. Even though you don't deserve it," he added.

Isaac knew she had lied? How? His words stung, but deep down, Jenna knew it was the truth. Around here, lying to Bane was one of the worst things one could do to betray him. Jenna wondered why lying was such a big deal, but the tendency to worry about the pain that was to come was too consuming. "I know," she finally said. "But..."

"Either I set the bone, which will go by faster than you think, or you can have a curved arm for the rest of your life. What's it gonna be?"

Jenna knew she had worn out Isaac's patience, and with a sigh of defeat, she let her arm go limp as she turned away again. Isaac understood her answer, and Jenna bit her lip when she felt Isaac bring her arm closer to him and tighten his grip around it. This hurt her something awful already, but Jenna had not prepared herself for what was to come. Quickly and practically violently, Isaac bent her arm back the opposite way, and Jenna couldn't help but shout out at the pain and the God-awful cracking noise her arm made, her face crippling as more tears filled her eyes and spilled quickly down her reddened face. Pain shot through her entire body again, but once she finally and slowly glanced back to her arm, she saw that the limb was straight again. Perhaps this should have been refreshing, but Jenna's body began to shake and tremble as pain pulsated throughout her body, and she had to look away as her body shook.

"Told you," Isaac mumbled as he turned to grab something he had laid out beside him from the bag, his left hand still holding her arm, and Jenna watched as he began to wrap some sort of cotton-like material around her entire forearm before he picked up some other roll of material to wrap around the cotton.

"What's that?" Jenna asked once he had finished, watching now as he let her arm rest on his lap, and her eyebrows furrowed when she watched him place some sort of metal pin on the cotton-like material to hold both of the wrapped ends together.

"Gauze," Isaac replied blankly, his tone suggesting he was not going to elaborate. Jenna rolled her eyes and glanced away, trying to distract herself from the pain while Isaac began to rummage around in the bag again.

"What did you lie about anyway?" Isaac asked suddenly a long moment later, a shock running up Jenna's spine due to his question, and when she turned back to him she saw he had what looked like a roll of paper towels in his hand.

"How do you know I lied?"

"Bane told me," he replied. The sound of his name brought on a strong surge of anger and disgust, and Jenna couldn't help but to roll her eyes again and sigh as she shook her head. _"Oh no," _Isaac began when he witnessed Jenna's demeanor instantly change upon hearing Bane's name, and he couldn't help but to smirk slightly. "_You're _the one who fucked up, don't be mad at him."

"He broke my fucking arm, Isaac," Jenna replied harshly as she lifted her eyes to look at him, a strong incredulous look on her face. _Are you fucking kidding me? _"I'll be fucking mad if I want to." The sound of Isaac quietly chuckling only upset Jenna more. "That... that... _monster_-" she couldn't think of a better word at the moment "-overreacted."

"Did he though?" Isaac wondered out loud as he began to cut off strips from the paper towel-like material, and he set the strips in the middle of them. "You've been told before: lying of any sort isn't tolerated."

"But he didn't have to break my arm-"

"_What _did you lie about?" Isaac interrupted, growing tired of her childish anger. He knew Jenna should just feel lucky to be alive. Isaac had witnessed plenty of men face gruesome deaths for lying. With Bane, punishment resulting in a broken arm was no worse than a paper cut.

"It's complicated," Jenna replied passively as she stared down at the carpeted floor.

"I doubt it. Tell me," Isaac pressed on, finally finished with cutting the strips of plaster.

Jenna sighed as she glanced up at the ceiling. "I lied about getting rid of my cell phone. I forgot to turn it off, it went off, and he found it." Telling Isaac only forced her to relive the terrible nightmare. Beside her, Isaac was nodding as he picked up the first strip of plaster. "What is that?" Jenna wondered now as she watched him dip it into the bucket.

"Plaster," he replied, "for the cast. So you've had that phone this whole time? Why?" He set the wet plaster down onto the gauze and molded it against her arm before he proceeded to do the same with the second strip, waiting for her answer.

"I don't know," Jenna replied. "I just... couldn't get rid of it. It gave me a piece of mind."

"Were you in contact with somebody?"

"No... well, sorta. My friend is... going crazy with worry, and all I did was send him a text telling him I'm okay."

Her sentence caused many questions to surface for Isaac. "Was it that guy from the charity?"

"Rodger, yeah," Jenna replied as she glanced down again, uninterested in what Isaac was doing now, for watching seemed to only hurt her arm more. Isaac nodded.

"And you told him you were okay?" Isaac asked now, unable to help but to feel bewildered over this. Wouldn't have made sense for Jenna to tell him her whereabouts so she could be rescued?

"Yeah," Jenna replied in a small voice. At least, she had _thought _she was okay. Whatever was happening between her and Bane was consuming, and the heat of their passion melted away any desire to try and escape it. Now, however... _Talk about a mistake_, Jenna thought.

"So is that what you lied about? That's not that complicated."

"No," Jenna sighed. She didn't want to talk about any of this, but the fact that it was Isaac who was asking these questions and actually listening helped Jenna to do it. "I went into town today to get Bane that coat, and I had to stop by my house, even though he told me not to. But I _had _to. And I fucking ran into Rodger there. So when Bane found the phone, he read a text from Rodger... and... yeah."

"Damn," Isaac said with a small grin. "Talk about hitting two birds with one stone." He laughed, but Jenna didn't find this amusing. "Why did you get him that coat?" Isaac asked seriously a moment later. He glanced up when Jenna shook her head. "Tell me," he prompted.

"Isaac seriously, I don't want to talk about it. It was stupid..."

"Fine," Isaac replied simply. Chances were he probably didn't want to know anyway. Jenna glanced back over to arm, and she watched Isaac wrap the final piece of plaster around it, and her frown deepened when she saw how thick and heavy this cast had become.

"How long does this take to heal?" Jenna wondered.

"About a year, give or take," Isaac replied simply, but Jenna had gone white. _A year? A fucking year?! _

"A year?" She expressed out loud. "You're joking."

"I am not," Isaac replied.

"I have to wear this fucking thing for a _year_?"

"Do you hear yourself?" Isaac asked loudly as he glanced up to her, his eyes wide, his lips thinned in a serious manner. "You must have it real good if your biggest worry is wearing a cast for a year."

Jenna rolled her eyes and began to turn away, but suddenly Isaac was not having it.

"No, listen to me," he said now. "I've witnessed you make all this progress and leave your former self behind, and right when I begin to think you may be an asset to the team –regardless of what's going on between you and Bane or you and me– you go right back to acting like a child, Jenna." He titled his head and raised his eyebrows. "I mean, is it all an act?"

Jenna was frowning as she shook her head, refusing to look at him.

"It must be. I guess I'm the dumb one here for thinking _you _could change yourself so quickly. This attitude of yours is going to be the _death _of you Jenna. It's not just the lying, it's not just the lack of know-how, it's your outlook, your perspective, and _your _tendency to over-react. This complaining of such trivial _shit _needs to stop."

"What do you fucking care?" Jenna retorted now as she looked over at him. "You said it yourself, we're not friends, and you're through helping me. You don't care what happens to me, so just save the lecture, Isaac. You don't _like _me, Bane doesn't like me, no-fucking-body around here likes me."

Isaac sighed, his lips parting to speak, but Jenna interrupted him.

"And don't even say there's _something _about me that you _do _like to spare my feelings. You and Bane both say and think that, but I sure as hell don't know what it is. Clearly it's not my bravery, or confidence, or potential. Maybe all it is are my fucking ass and tits." She paused to let out a frustrated laugh as she shook her head. "It's _hard _being here, Isaac, this life isn't _meant _for me. So excuse me for never knowing anything outside of a fucking mansion, and sorry if the biggest problem I've ever had to face before was having uneven eyebrows or chipping nail polish." She stopped suddenly, and Isaac remained quiet as he watched Jenna's face crumble before she finally let the tears she had been holding back spill forth. She released a large, shaky breath as her shoulders went limp, and she bowed her head as she brought her left hand up to shield her face. "I mean," she began, struggling to keep her voice straight. "Y-you all picked the w-wrong person _entirely_ for this shit." She released another shaky breath as more tears fell down her cheeks, and she felt her face reddening in embarrassment. But regardless, she continued on. "I _am _trying, Isaac, I do try. Every fucking day. But you can't change yourself. I can only act like somebody fucking else for so long before I... I-"

Her shoulders heaved up and down as she was forced to succumb to more tears, and Isaac felt like an idiot for not knowing what to say. So Jenna was crying, big deal, right? This shouldn't stop Isaac from scolding her for her wrong-doings, but unfortunately it was, just like the last time she had cried in front of him.

"The goal isn't to make you be somebody else," he finally said. "It's to strengthen the good qualities, and be rid of the bad. At least it is... for you."

"Guess I'm all bad then," Jenna replied as she angrily wiped away her tears. "It doesn't fucking matter now anyway." She sat up, sniffling as she did so, and she wiped the last of her tears away. "Whenever Bane comes back he'll just kill me."

"No he won't," Isaac assured seriously.

"Yeah, he will," Jenna argued.

"He won't," Isaac said again. "Jenna I've seen him take a hammer to a man's _head _for an act of betrayal, and a beat down with his fists to another until the guy was dead. He just broke your arm."

"You make it sound like it's not so bad."

"It's not. If he was going to kill you, he would have right there and then."

Jenna was forced to consider this. Recalling the event, if she wouldn't have followed him to the door, he would have never touched her. But she couldn't bring herself to agree that this was entirely her fault. It led her to believe all of Bane's actions previously had all been a lie. He didn't care about her. Jenna felt even dumber now.

"He could always decide to later."

"He won't. He's had every opportunity to kill you in the past couple of weeks, and he hasn't taken any of them. I've told you this. You screwed up, so consider this your punishment. Just feel lucky that you're still alive and able to learn from your mistake."

"I can't anymore, Isaac," Jenna replied in a small voice. "Every time I turn around there's a new opportunity to die. It's becoming too hard to just stay living here."

"So you want to give up? Just like that?" Isaac asked, waiting for Jenna to answer, but when she didn't, he went on. "Just because something gets hard doesn't mean that you back down. I mean you allowed permission of your_ own parent's_ death so you could stay alive. If you die, that would have all been for nothing."

"I don't care about my parent's, Isaac," Jenna retorted, though a strong pang had gone through her heart upon speaking those words. "Like I said, I can't change me. And you said it, it'll be the death of me."

"No, I said your outlook on everything will. The way you view everything can change." Isaac had raised his voice, and he noticed the way it made Jenna jump, but he was beginning to get annoyed with her attitude and how easily she wanted to give up. He had not wanted to get personal with Jenna; all he had wanted to do was perform his orders from Bane and go on his way without a second thought. Although and admittedly it had been hard, he had done so well with abandoning their friendship, but now he was facing the strong desire to help her again. He sighed, giving in easily, but he could not help the booming tone of his voice. "You can be yourself, but know how to face challenges! Here's the truth: what needs to change is your _outlook_, and what you think is important to worry about. Most of all, your _childish _antics need to just _stop_. You act like a twelve-year-old living in an adult atmosphere. That isn't tolerated around here. Complaining, _lying, _avoiding tough situations and giving up easily, that's _childish, _Jenna. You can still be yourself and lose these qualities. All the traits that will lead to your death are all categorized as this. _That's _what needs to change. What we like about you? What we want to respect? It's the potential, and the will to live. You have it, but you don't use it."

"You said yourself it was all an act," Jenna pointed out, though Isaac's stern and loud tone had made her nervous. When he had been shouting at her, however, she noticed in the back of her mind some sort of slight accent attached to particular words, but she immediately reminded herself that this was _not _important right now. Rationally, she wanted to accept Isaac's help, but her mind wouldn't let her. Not after all the things he had said to her before.

Isaac frowned. "I... I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled, unable to help but feel embarrassed. He was better than that, and he had allowed Jenna to anger him to the point of speaking without thinking. "It's just how quickly you recede on the progress made. I know all you've ever known is the luxurious life of a child, but that's your fault. You've been placed into this situation, and now you need to make the best of it. Bane won't kill you now, but if this continues, ultimately he will, and I don't want to witness that."

Jenna couldn't help but to glance at him, surprised over his words, and thankful that he had calmed and quieted his tone. It was evident that Isaac _did _care. Jenna realized now that although he didn't want to care, he did, and it was something he couldn't help. She kept her mouth closed now, fighting against her will to speak out, for she did not want to ruin any chances she had suddenly at reconstructing their friendship.

"Life has a funny way of inflicting fate on people."

"Are you saying I was _meant _to be here?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask. Isaac shrugged slightly.

"Maybe," he replied. "Of all the people in Gotham, in the _world_, you're the one he went after. Sure, there were legitimate reasons at first, but it wasn't your fate to die so early."

"That's stupid," Jenna couldn't help but to say as she glanced down again.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," Isaac replied. "Either way, if you want to stay alive, and I know you _do_, just grow up. It's as simple as that. You've come this far, don't give up now just because you messed up. Learn from your mistake, deal with the repercussions, and _move on_. You say this 'life' isn't meant for you, but maybe it is. Maybe it's what you _need_. Why else would you be here?"

"If you say fate, I'll kill you," Jenna mumbled, and she couldn't help but to grin when Isaac laughed slightly. Her grin, however, was short lived, and a spurt of pain from her arm caused her to flinch.

"It's something I believe in," he admitted. "As a kid I always enjoyed guns and other weapons. Every weekend I'd go with my grandfather to go shoot them and do some target practice. During school I'd hide in a bathroom stall and polish my knives. Nothing else interested me; I was an outcast. I dropped out of school and joined the army. I became a weapons expert, I enjoyed it, and I started to get into some medical procedures as well. But then... life got rough. I left my post and hid away in West Africa... that's where I met Bane."

By this point Jenna had glanced up to him again, her brow furrowed immensely as she tried to listen to his words and fathom the idea that he was _finally _telling her his story. It took her a minute to realize he was talking again, and she quickly abandoned her astonished thoughts to listen.

"...to take out some mining operations going on there. He needed more men, so he took me. In the army, I hadn't ever been in any situation like that... something so chaotic. I wasn't prepared either. I nearly died.

"After, we came here, we established ourselves in an underground sort of lair under the city, and kept quiet for a while. It was tough, Jenna, even for me. But unlike you, I didn't have anyone to talk to, to get help from. I was alone, and had to learn how to defend myself every day around these harsh men. Bane was... Bane kept to himself, only talking to his men when there were orders to be given or when loyalty was betrayed. To him, I was just another thug, a clone of the rest who had served him before me. Men fell away, one by one, for whatever reason, whether that was by him or their own stupidity. I was tired of it, too. Tired of the hand I had been dealt. By then, my grandparents had died, and even if I was to escape his rule I would have had nowhere to go, no way to get out of Gotham and go to my hometown. Hell, if I'd have even tried I would have been shot down, like you would have. Running away is a shining example of betrayal around here. The will to stay alive made me realize I had to make my situation work for me, and play the hand I had been dealt."

"You make it sound like it was so easy," Jenna said in a quiet voice just above a whisper.

"The realization made the _determination_ easy, Jenna," Isaac specified. "It was hard work proving I was somebody to be respected, respected over the rest of the men, and somebody who Bane should have some respect for as well. I was through taking shit from anyone. I changed a good majority of my anti-social ways: I stood up for myself, I did what I was told, when I was told, and I did it with confidence, even the things I had never even dreamed about doing before."

"That's not making anything better," Jenna pointed out. "You were still just a clone."

"For a while," Isaac agreed. "But I proved to him that I was better than everyone else. I proved to him that I was the man to go to for any and eventually all weapon operations. Bane was building an army, and he needed a second in command, somebody he could trust to run and operate things when he was away. I was appointed the job, because I had improved myself and he saw that."

Jenna glanced away. She understood what Isaac was saying, what he was trying to point out to her about herself, but she was still having somewhat of a hard time finding inspiration in his story. "You only improved yourself in _his _eyes. You _changed _yourself, you-"

"No, I didn't," Isaac argued sternly, and Jenna heard that accent again. "I strengthened my confidence, my knowledge, logic, and ability to step up and take the lead. I didn't change who I _was_. I was always the _soft _guy, the guy who felt things differently and could _relate _to people. My grandma-" Isaac smiled slightly as he turned a little bit to look away, and Jenna glanced over at him again as he stared ahead. "-she always said I had this awesome ability to put myself in others shoes, and know what it was like for them, the hardships they faced. That never changed. Maybe it was masked, qualities like that don't earn you the respect you need here, but after a while Bane accepted that about me, when he learned I could shut that part of me off."

"What else didn't change?" Jenna asked.

Isaac shrugged. "A lot," he replied. "I don't know. Behind all this tactical exterior is still the man I was. Hell, I haven't been this way in a while... not until you came around."

Jenna glanced down again, and she nodded slightly.

"So you see? I'm not saying _you _need to change yourself. I'm saying you need to improve yourself. It's what Bane wants. What we like about you is the fact that you're just _you_, and you can make that work around here. Dropping your childish ways won't change who you are. Fate brought you here; fate brought _me _here. I have to think, why else was I so interested in weapons so early, and why did information and knowing how to handle them stick so well? All my time in the army, my medical skills... it brought me here, to this new army, like I was meant to be here. So now, I think you're supposed to be here. If it wasn't fate, you would have been dead by now."

Jenna couldn't help but to grin. "I don't know," she said, sitting back slightly, and she couldn't help but to flinch when she moved her arm.

"Don't move it," Isaac said suddenly, and Jenna glanced over at him as he rummaged around in the medical bag again, watching as he pulled out a white arm sling.

"All the talk about fate," Jenna went on now as Isaac helped to put the sling around her, and she had to admit, once her arm was rested in it, it did feel much better. "It just sounds... wrong. I don't think I believe it."

Isaac shrugged. He did. He couldn't help it. He believed everything happened for a reason... "Bane's... different... with you around," he said now, and Jenna stared at him.

"Yeah, like more over-reactive, probably," she mumbled as she glanced away. Although Jenna was surprised he had mentioned him, she really didn't want to talk about him in this way. Isaac let out an annoyed sigh. Had his story and advice really failed to inspired her?

"No... more patient, and... outgoing. I haven't seen him smile in a long time."

Jenna's jaw dropped slightly as she slowly looked back to him. _Yeah fucking right. _"You're lying," she argued. He had to be. How could her presence ever make Bane _happier_? He had just broken her arm, for God's sake. But she couldn't help but to think back to how things _had _been going, and come to think of it, she recalled how often Bane had smiled. Images of the wrinkles around his eyes came to her mind, and although Jenna hadn't known him prior to all this smiling, she assumed it was something the beast probably rarely did.

But as soon as her mind allowed her to clearly comprehend a pleasing thought about him, she was instantly reminded of his actions previously displayed in her room. His hand had felt burning hot, his grip tighter than ever, and the collision of bone to wall was indescribable. He had broken her arm; Jenna couldn't remind herself of this enough. It was a heartless, uncaring act of over-reaction, and suddenly she felt as though she'd never be able to forgive him.

"Alright," Isaac was saying now, and when Jenna felt the pressure from his hands on her cast, she looked down and watched as he ran his fingers over the plaster. "This looks about dry. You should be good. You should get some sleep."

"Do you have any pain killers?" Jenna wondered as Isaac stood from the bed now.

"Yes," he replied. "But you can take them later."

"Why not now?"

"Because you're exhausted, angry, and in dire need of sleep."

"Sleep won't keep the pain away."

"It'll mask it for a while. You don't need them now, Jenna," he went on as he started to the bathroom with the bucket and medical kit. "You haven't complained about the pain for a while now, anyway."

"Fine," Jenna mumbled as she finally started to stand, flinching as she did so. Isaac had seen this, but he quickly turned away from Jenna to rinse out the bucket in his sink. Although he hadn't wanted to have a such a helpful conversation with Jenna, he couldn't help but to feel somewhat good about it. From the night that he had met Jenna at the party all the way to now, he was still strong in knowing that he liked her, even if at one point he had to pretend not to. Now, it was evident to Jenna that some of their friendship had been reconstructed, and although Isaac primarily didn't want this, it was something he was starting to lose control over, he knew. _Fate_, he thought as he placed the bucket onto the floor now. There was some sort of friendly pull between the two, and Isaac wasn't sure if he'd be able to avoid it much longer.

Upon stepping out of the bathroom, Isaac saw that Jenna had just started to open the door. He watched her start to step out of his room when a random thought occurred to Jenna, and she paused before turning to face him.

"I must have improved somewhat around here," she began, a small grin appearing on her face. "Because you said you wouldn't tell me that story until you saw improvement. Or until I died."

Isaac couldn't help but to smile. "You're more patient," he complimented. "Although, it could still use more work."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that along with everything else," she mumbled. "Isaac?" She suddenly spoke up just as Isaac turned off the bathroom light. "Thank you," she added lamely. How did she always get stuck in these situations? Isaac had helped her plenty of times before, but he had really outdone himself this time. He was, literally, the only one there for her in her painful time of need. "Seriously," she went on. "I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't.. for-"

"I know," Isaac interrupted, a small grin on his face. "Now go get some sleep." Isaac didn't offer anything else as he turned around, sure of the fact that Jenna would be able to get down the ladder herself, and when he turned around now to glance at his door, he saw that she was gone.

Jenna climbed down the ladder slowly, but successfully, and once her feet had touched the ground, she immediately started to the basement, deciding she was rather tired after all. The day had turned out to be exhausting, not only physically, but mentally as well. It was bewildering to her how quickly things had gone downhill, and as she slowly descended the stairs, keeping an eye out for Bane, she wished all together that this day had never even happened. She had been stupid in thinking Bane could possibly care about her, in any way, and she was stupid to have tried perusing it. Now, she was sure she had doomed herself into an even more miserable life. She anticipated for Bane to push her harder, torment her on deeper levels, and send her on missions he knew she'd be unable to handle. In her mind, this made sense.

The basement was free of Bane, and with this relief Jenna immediately headed toward her room, but as soon as she had pushed open her door, stepped inside and turned around while closing the door, she paused once her eyes fell on dozens of tiny pieces that once made up her phone on the floor. She swallowed, and ignoring the throbbing in her arm due to her fast, vigorous movements to hide away in her room, and she closed her eyes as she turned away, the pieces only bringing back the memories. She stepped over to her cot and stopped before lifting her foot onto the edge of it to push it against the cold wall adjacent to the one it had been near. After, she took her time with leaning over to fix her blankets, and she found herself frowning deeper than ever as she picked up her pillow from the floor. She placed it gently on her cot before she turned to lower herself on it. She stared down at her pants as she went about removing her shoes, but she was too tired to take them off or change them or even turn off the dim lights. All she could manage to do was lay down in her cot and cover herself with the blanket as she turned onto her left side to face the wall.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, only to immediately halt her actions as her eyes snapped open. Not even five minutes of laying in her cot and already the blankets and pillow smelled like him. She couldn't help but to close her eyes and breathe in deeply again, filling her senses with the scent of musky soap and what smelled like gun powder, but as soon as she exhaled, she couldn't help the tear that slid down her cheek and onto the pillow.

–

Jenna was unsure of how long she had been sleeping or what time it was when she finally did wake, but she found herself feeling even more exhausted than she had been prior to sleeping. Clenching her teeth, she rolled onto her back, disdaining the way her arm was starting to throb, and she stared up at the ceiling. As the physical sensations of her body began to return upon being awake, she realized finally how hard she had been sweating, and how rather hot it was under her blanket. She kicked it off, immediately letting out a cry and cursing to herself when her arm gave a violent spurt of pain, and she hissed as she finally sat up, running her hand through her hair. She made a face as she pulled her hand back, disgusted with how hot and sweaty her scalp felt, and as she considered showering, she had to wonder what had caused her body to become so over-heated. She could not recall any nightmares; the last thing she had thought about was the scent of Bane on the cot before all went blank when she fell asleep. She rolled her puffy and blood-shot eyes before she finally stood up, deciding a shower was the only thing she needed at this point.

As soon as she pulled out her bag to start looking for clothes, she immediately paused, and with an annoyed expression she began to lean up. Was she allowed to get the cast wet? Isaac had never mentioned she could or could not, and with the shallow knowledge she did have concerning broken limbs, she had a gut feeling that getting the cast wet would ultimately lead to nothing but difficulties.

"Great," she mumbled out loud. What was she supposed to do then? The only option she had right now was to ask Isaac. Rolling her eyes, she turned toward her door and started over to it. She opened it gently, and after peering around the dark basement, she headed over toward the stairs, illuminated by the lights upstairs, and once she had ascended them she immediately started over to the ladder that led up to Isaac's room. She noticed the bathroom door was shut, light flooding out onto the floor from under the door, and she sighed as she turned the corner. It was nearly silent on the upper level, the only noise coming from the TV, and after she struggled to see if Isaac's bedroom door was open or not, or if he was even up there, she slumped her shoulders.

"Isaac?" She called somewhat quietly, leaning closer to the ladder. "Isaac are you up there?" She waited, hoping no other henchmen would lean over the edge of the upstairs. Fortunately, nobody else bothered her, but unfortunately, she received no answer from Isaac. Was he outside? Or could he just not hear her? She bit her lip, debating with herself over which course of action was the most rational to take. Would Isaac get mad if she was to go up there herself? Was he ashamed of his repeated helpful ways and hoping that Jenna would not start to 'bother' him again, especially after he had yelled at her? _It's only one question_, she thought to herself. _If he gets upset, then that's stupid on his part_. She began to climb the ladder.

Once she reached the top, she saw that his door was closed. Without thinking about it, she stepped up to his door and knocked.

After a few long seconds, she heard the door being unlocked before it opened, and before Isaac could open the door, he already knew it would be Jenna. Once he revealed her, he stared at her with tired eyes and waited to see what she wanted.

"Did I wake you?" Jenna wondered, slight concern in her voice, and after Isaac slowly shook his head, she cleared her throat before going on. "Um... I was just wondering how I'm supposed to shower. Can I get the cast wet?"

"No," Isaac finally answered verbally. "You can't."

"What do I do then?"

Isaac shrugged. "You'll have to lean over the tub and use the shower head. Or just not shower." He smirked when Jenna made a face.

"Okay," she answered, deciding not to say anything concerning Isaac's last statement. "Thank you," she added, pure disappointment in her voice. The last thing she wanted to do was shower awkwardly. Did the shower head in the bathroom even detach? She began to turn around, but as soon as she was facing the ladder, she instantly remembered the angry man that had been pestering her when she had been showering prior to her arm. She didn't want to be caught in those circumstances again, especially when she was already eighty percent more vulnerable than before. She could sense Isaac still standing by his open door, and before he could start to close it she quickly turned around.

"Do you think I could use your shower?" she asked calmly and quietly, feeling as though if she asked this innocently enough Isaac would say yes.

"Why?"

Jenna shrugged slightly as she brushed some of her hair behind her ear with her left hand. "Last time I showered, some guy was bothering me and trying to get in, and... I'd feel better if I could do it up here. Please?"

Isaac stared at her for a long moment. He _knew _his helpful words toward Jenna would lead her to believe she could start trying to talk to him again, or begging for more help. But all she was wanting now was to use his shower to avoid the men downstairs. Isaac could understand this. He would allow her to use his shower, but later he decided he wanted to have a talk about the friendship that was starting to redevelop. A friendship between them still didn't seem right or good for anyone, especially when Bane's plans were starting to be put into action, but Isaac was realizing it was something that was becoming inevitable.

"Fine," he replied. He stepped back, opening the door more, and understanding his invitation Jenna stepped into his room. She paused in the middle of the walkway while Isaac shut the door, and she turned to face him just as he started past her. She followed him toward the bathroom, and he paused outside of the door frame and snapped on the light as Jenna walked in front of him.

"Towels are up there." He pointed to a shelf above the toilet. "And you can just use my shampoo. The knobs are wrong though– the hot is actually the cold, and cold is hot."

"Okay," Jenna replied gently. "Thank you."

Isaac didn't reply, and instead he merely closed the door before he turned to head back over to his bed. Inside the bathroom, Jenna could easily tell how uneasy Isaac was about this, but she couldn't help but to try and ignore this. His bathroom was rather big, complete with a countered sink, a large, medicine cabinet above it, a metal towel rack above the white toilet, and a bathtub/shower on the opposite side of the sink and toilet. She grabbed a blue towel from the top of the rack and set it down on the closed toilet lid before she pulled back the transparent curtain of the tub, revealing a rather clean shower. Her eyes skimmed over the various body washes and shampoos that lined the edges, and she couldn't help but to smirk slightly. She turned toward the faucet, and after she confirmed that this shower had a detachable shower head, she reached up to take it off its holder before she started it, remembering what Isaac had told her about the hot and cold.

As the water warmed up, she frowned as she stood back up, wondering how the fuck she was going to do this. Gently, slowly and carefully, she began to take off the sling that held her arm against the top of her stomach, and she let it fall to the floor before she began to take her shirt off. Once she had removed her shirt and bra to avoid getting them wet, she pushed them to the side before she got onto her knees in front of the tub. She reached over to grab his shampoo bottle, and after she set it on the floor she grabbed the shower head, leaned over the tub as far as she could with her head bowed, her hair spilling over, and she began to move the shower head over it to get her hair wet.

Bane had spent a good majority of that evening outside, where he had stormed out to after he had snapped Jenna's arm nearly in half. The process of doing so had felt good, and proved to relieve _some _anger on site, but as soon as he got outside, and the cold air stung the exposed areas of his face, seething anger came flowing back like scorching lava, and all the anger came rushing back. His mind was unable to fathom the fact that Jenna had lied, and this almost upset him more than what she had lied about. He had allowed himself to trust her too much. He had allowed himself to feel these feelings for her, and now that she had betrayed him, it was making him feel more rage than necessary. The lava inside grew hotter, and in turn he became angrier.

Storming over to the warehouse, he had clutched his fists so tightly his arms were beginning to shake, but he ignored this as he continued over to the open garage, where he knew Isaac would be. His body was begging him to think about Jenna in her miserable state where he had left her on the floor, but now, for the first time in a while, his mind was winning. _She lied... she betrayed you... she's been betraying you this entire time... that little brat cannot be trusted... she cannot improve her ways. Kill her. Kill her. KILL HER!_

Bane closed his eyes and shook his head somewhat vigorously. Kill her? It made sense, but due to this thought, his body forced himself to release the tightness of his clenched fists ever so slightly, as if reminding him that he just _couldn't_. _You need to_, his mind went on. _What good is she to you, to any of this? She's not an asset, she's a liability. She will never amount to anything. She can't _do _anything. You have blinded yourself with deciding that her terrible traits could someday prove to be helpful, and you have numbed your rational thoughts with disgusting physical feelings. _

Bane sucked in a deep breath as he continued toward the garage, but his fists had clenched again due to these thoughts. _She discovered betrayal from Karly _before _it's even happened. A shining example of a shallow trait proving helpful. _

_ No_, Bane instantly scolded himself. _That's something you could have easily discovered yourself. That was nothing more than Jenna's jealously getting the best of her. She is _not _helpful. Kill her._

By now Bane had made it to the garage, and he ventured into it directly past Isaac.

"I need you to go inside," Bane forced himself to mumble. "...and do something about Jenna's arm," he added before he could stop himself. Really? After all of that, he was_ still_ finding a way to get Jenna the help she so desperately needed?

"Her arm? What happened?" Isaac had asked, and his question caused Bane to close his eyes as his raging mind went wild on him.

_You betray yourself by _commanding _Barsad to go assist Jenna. Leave her. Let her fend for herself. Let her _suffer, his mind growled.

"I broke it," Bane replied, clenching his fists harder due to his thoughts. _Jenna may be less than desirable right now, but she needs help. The fact that you understand this proves something..._

_ No! _The logical side took over with a snarl. _You have done worse to men who have lied to you before. She lied to you, she deceived you, and who knows what else she is _still _lying about. _Bane opened his eyes and finally looked over to Isaac to finish the statement he had made just seconds before. "She lied to me."

He shook his head as he turned away from Isaac. His entire being was arguing with itself. It was mind against body, and though his body was trying hard to convince him to go with his _feelings, _his logical mind was winning.

_You must correct the error of your ways. If you are still _shamefully_ against killing her, then you must inflict the worst hell on her. She is a _hostage_. Nothing more, nothing less. Treat her as so. She deserves it. _

_ I will, _Bane decided sternly, and at that moment his body had lost. _Welcome back, Bane. _

_**Please leave me your thoughts! Shit's really hit the fan for poor Jenna...**  
_

_**Also, I would like to give a BIG thanks to my new beta, Loretta Lolita (her penname), for giving me some great and much needed advice for this chapter :)**_


	17. Retrospect

Nearly forty-five minutes had passed by the time Jenna was slowly leaning away from the tub to gently toss her drenched hair behind her. Ignoring the water that was dripping down her back and onto the floor, she quickly turned the shower off before she turned to grab her towel. She unfolded it and tried her hardest to wrap her hair in it one-handed, and after a few minutes had gone by of constant attempts, once she succeeded she slowly leaned back up to glance at herself in the mirror over the sink. Once she had, however, she immediately wished she hadn't.

Her eyelids were swollen and red, the whites of her eyes bloodshot, and the tiny, red, crack-like lines masked the usual stunning aqua-blue color they usually carried. Black make-up was smeared all around her eyes, and the make-up that had been carried down by her tears had dried, and now stained faint, black lines down her cheeks. Her lips were puffy and in the shape of a permanent frown, and as she licked them she could feel how disgustingly chapped they were. She shook her head after another moment had gone by, and she reached up her left hand to slowly pull the towel from her head, figuring her hair was through with dripping. Due to having to awkwardly bend over the tub, her hair was a voluminous, tangled mess, littered with knots she knew she'd never be able to get out if she didn't take hours to commit. After she wiped away the make-up on her cheeks, she placed the towel in between her knees and reached her hand up again to try her best to smooth down her hair, but once she was done, strands still tangled amongst themselves and stuck out in other places.

She sighed as she shook her head again. She had never witnessed herself to look like the definition of a complete, literal mess. She bent down slowly to pick up her shirt and bra from the floor, and after she had managed to get her bra on, she took a few moments more to put her shirt on. Once she had finished, she picked up the white arm sling and towel, only to pause when she realized she wasn't entirely sure how to go about putting the sling on. _I have to go out there, anyway_, she thought. _I might as well just ask him to help me._

When she slowly eased open the bathroom door, she saw Isaac to be laying on his bed, his eyes focused on his small TV mounted onto a stand on the wall just near the bathroom door, and she snapped off the light as she stepped out. "Isaac?" She asked, and once his eyes lazily rolled over to hers, she went on. "Do you think you could help me put this on?" She lifted up the sling in her left hand. Without a word, Isaac rose from his bed and stepped over to her, and Jenna couldn't help but to swallow as he took the sling from her.

"How'd that go?" Isaac asked, referring to the shower, and he took the towel from Jenna before letting it fall gently to the floor.

"Horrible," Jenna replied sourly. "I-I mean... it was just difficult."

"I can see that," Isaac replied with a grin, and when Jenna glanced at him she watched his eyes drop from her hair down to her arm.

"Why'd you ask then?" She shot back in somewhat of a rude tone. She instantly held her breath, but when Isaac continued to grin she released it.

"I wanted to see how'd you answer."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Did I pass the test?" She mumbled as she looked away.

"Eh. I'd give you a C. You were on the path to fail, but then you corrected it. C," he repeated. Jenna rolled her eyes again, but she couldn't help but to grin. "Wanna go smoke?" He asked her now as he took a step back. Jenna nodded. "Alright, I'll meet you outside."

It was at the tip of her tongue to ask him if Bane would be out there, but not only was Isaac already turning to leave the room, but Jenna figured this would be a _childish _thing to ask. She couldn't stand it, whenever she had the 'child discussion' with people, she found herself constantly questioning her actions. She began to follow him to the door. _Better be careful_, she sneered in her head. _I could be _walking _like a child right now. I'd better watch how I go down the ladder... _

By the time Jenna had reached the main level of the warehouse, she found herself in a very sour mood. She knew she was being ridiculous with her thoughts of sarcastically wondering about her childish actions, but she couldn't help it. Isaac was already heading outside, but Jenna abandoned him for a moment to head to the basement so she could retrieve her cigarettes and coat, hoping in the back of her mind she would not run into Bane. When she stepped into her room, her eyes instantly fell on Bane's jacket lying in the middle of the floor, and as her heart skipped several beats, she wondered how it was even possible that she hadn't noticed it before. She stared at it for a long minute before she finally went around it to grab her cigarettes, lighter and coat from the floor near her re-positioned cot. After she managed to get her left arm through the sleeve of the coat and rest other side lamely on her shoulder, she stuffed her cigarette box and lighter into her pocket before she headed over to the coat. With a small surge of rage, she picked up the heavy material and headed out of her room, and once she closed her door she let the coat fall carelessly to the floor in front of it before she began upstairs.

It was windy outside, and she instantly began to shiver once she stepped outside of the exit door. Using her left hand, she held the coat closed in the front of her body, and just as she began to dread smoking in the wind, she saw that the garage door was open with the lights dimly shining on the ceiling. Figuring Isaac had gone in there, she began to head toward the garage, and once she reached it, she glanced to the left and over the Challenger, where she found Isaac sitting on a chair in a more open part of the warehouse, near an old desk. Jenna immediately began around the car and toward him, surprised with the rather warm temperature inside the garage, but once she began to sit down in the chair Isaac had set up a few feet in front of him, Jenna noticed the large space heater to her right. She drew out her last cigarette from her pack and placed it between her lips, and after striking the lighter a few times with her left thumb, once she had finally managed to keep it lit, she touched the flame to the end of her cigarette. She leaned back comfortably as she exhaled, her eyes rising to the ceiling to watch the smoke dissipate into the air before she lowered them to stare at Isaac's untied boots.

Isaac remained still in his chair, rolling his cigarette back and forth slowly between his thumb and index finger, his eyes focused sleepily on the area of concrete floor in between him and Jenna. The dim lights above cast a deep orange color onto him, along with deep black shadows. The silence was starting to take a toll on Jenna, and she raised her eyes up to Isaac to see what he was doing. As she stared at him, she wondered what he was thinking about, but after another moment of staring at him, she glanced away to take another long and much needed drag from her cigarette. Finally, Isaac blinked, and as he leaned back in his chair he took a quick drag from his cigarette before opening his mouth to talk.

"So," he began. "I wanna talk to you about something."

Jenna slowly looked back to him, and she watched him blow a thin stream of smoke from his mouth before she raised her eyes to his, but by the time she looked at them, his eyes were focused downward again. "About what?" She asked, clearing her throat when she realized how hoarse she had sounded.

"About... us," Isaac replied truthfully. "I don't necessarily take back what I said to you before, about how a friendship can't work out, and how it's pointless. But..." He paused to take another drag from his cigarette, and he couldn't help but to grin slightly before it faded away. "It's becoming harder to avoid it."

Jenna had no desires to be rude, or say or do anything that would only push Isaac away, but she could not help the statement that came out of her mouth. "Let me guess, _fate_, right?" She smiled when Isaac glanced up to her, her way of showing him she meant that with the best of intentions, and that she remembered what they had talked about hours ago in his room. Isaac understood her smile and he had picked up on her friendly tone, and Jenna watched as his grin stretched over his lips again.

"Yeah," he replied, taking another drag, and Jenna repeated his actions. "There's some sort of pull between us, I can't deny that, but logically, there's just no way."

"So abandon your logic," Jenna argued gently as she leaned forward slightly. "You told me upstairs how you were the guy who _felt _things differently, Isaac. _Felt,_ not thought. What do you think friendship is? It's feelings."

"I know," Isaac replied. "And that's what I can't get away from. I want to help you, Jenna, but difficulty never fails to follow it."

"Like what?" Jenna replied, trying to hide the offense in her voice.

"Like how I help you with something once before it seems like you need help with everything. But besides that," he quickly went on, "like I said before, around here there's just no _time _for it."

"There _is_," Jenna replied. "Isaac look, you're the only one who's ever attempted to help or talk to me like this. I'm sorry if I take advantage of it, it's just... like _I _said, it's hard being here. It's hard realizing _when _I'm being... stupid."

Isaac smirked. "That's a problem then. How can you even begin to change when you don't realize when the problems occur?"

Jenna sighed as she sat back. "I know I have to learn, or whatever. But seriously, _please_, can't you just keep... being nice to me?" Isaac was staring at her, making Jenna feel as though she had to go on, and as she ashed her cigarette, she did. "Honestly I could give a rat's ass about friendship. The only real friend I had ever known in my entire life was Rodger, and now I've... managed to fuck that up..." Her mind wandered away to Bane, and the terrible sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her feel as though something terrible was going to happen to Rodger now, due to her lie. She swallowed back the lump in her throat before going on. "I realize these circumstances are different, and I'm not saying you're better than Rodger or he's better than you, but nobody's been there for me like this, to help me in the toughest situations I've ever been in." She paused again, feeling ridiculous, and when Isaac remained quiet Jenna slumped down into her chair even more as she glanced away. "It doesn't matter," Jenna began, wanting to forget all that she had just said. "I remember what you said before about all this, about ending this friendship. I'll be fine by myself, I guess."

Isaac grinned again. "You have no confidence in what you say. Is all that true, or what?"

"It's true," Jenna replied in a small voice, ignoring his criticism.

"Then that's all you need to say, just leave it there. You didn't even give me time to answer back yet. Jenna I want to be your friend, but I want... _need... _to be friends with the person you need start being around here. If you continue this way, you'll die, and what good would any of this have been?" He continued to stare at Jenna, and when she didn't look at him, he decided now was the time to go on. "So listen, let's just... stay apart, not move too fast. If you need legitimate help, I'll help you, but in turn you _gotta _start improving. I mean it."

Jenna finally glanced back at him. "So, we're only friends when I need help, or when you see that I'm '_improving myself'_?"

Isaac frowned. "No, you misunderstood me, Jenna," he said, the beginning hints of irritability in her voice unmissable. "Think of this way," he started again. "Would you want to be friends with someone who could only bring you down? Refuse to change their ways or be a constant drag on you? Would you want to help somebody who takes advantage of it?"

Jenna was staring at the floor. She was beginning to understand what he meant, but the words still sounded mean. "No," she mumbled. "I guess not."

"Exactly." Judging by her tones and body language, Isaac knew Jenna was just saying this in an attempt to keep her chances of friendship alive. _She'll figure it out_, he thought.

With no desire to continue on, Isaac slouched down comfortably in his seat as he took a final drag from his cigarette before letting it fall to the ground to burn out on the cold concrete. Jenna listened to him exhale, the sound reminding her of the cigarette she held in between her fingers, and as she lifted it up to take a hit, she suddenly remembered having heard some sort of accent attached to certain words that Isaac had spoken up in his room. Jenna knew this was off topic, and probably not important, but being so fed up already with what Isaac had said to her, Jenna decided focusing on something lighter would prove beneficial.

"So," she began, glancing up at him again, and as soon as she had his eyes slowly wandered up and over to hers. "When we were in you room, talking... I thought I heard some sort of... accent?" She paused, wondering suddenly if the question would upset him in anyway. Jenna thought that was silly, though another part of her told her maybe that question could prove to offend him in someway. She grew not only confused, but slightly relieved when Isaac grinned, letting out a chuckle as he bowed his head. _Oh God_, Jenna thought to herself, feeling her face reddening. Had she even heard an accent in the first place? Why was he laughing?

"Yeah," Isaac began now as his laughter died down. "You did."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "But, what was-"

"Russia," Isaac went on now. "I was born in Russia."

Jenna froze, a tiny smirk appearing on her lips due to the way Isaac had said 'Russia'. It was clear to her now that Isaac fought to cover up his accent, hence the reason why some of the accent had slipped out on particular words when he was yelling at her, due to being unable to control the sound of his words.

"Why hide it?" She asked him now.

Isaac shrugged. "Habit," he replied. "For a lot of reasons."

And that was the end of the conversation. The two had grown quiet, and while Jenna wanted to know why he hid his natural accent, she knew she should just be appreciative he had fessed up to it. But questions had not stopped forming in her mind: did he hide it due to leaving the military, to better disguise himself? Did Bane know about it?

_Ugh_, Jenna thought to herself sourly as she let her cigarette fall to the ground. Thoughts of him always came at the entirely wrong moments. Just when she and Isaac had achieved a more lighthearted conversation, and just when Jenna had begun to enjoy the comforting silence, Bane came bursting into her mind to shatter away any and all good that Jenna was starting to feel. But as if Isaac knew what Jenna had begun to think about, he leaned out of his chair, and Jenna watched as he stood up.

"It's nearly three in the morning," he stated as he stretched his arms. "I'm gonna head inside."

"Yeah, okay," Jenna replied as she stood up, surprised with the time, for it didn't feel like three in the morning to her. As soon as Isaac started out of the garage, Jenna followed him, and once they were outside of it she glanced over her shoulder when Isaac stopped near the entrance. Continuing on her path toward the exit door, she watched him lower the garage door, and just as soon as Isaac had finished and took a few steps away, Jenna was already heading up the steps. She glanced back at Isaac as she opened the door, and deciding that he was too far away to wait for, she stepped inside, and let the door close behind her.

Her ears immediately picked up a faint dripping noise down in the quiet surroundings of the basement once she approached the steps, and she stopped at the top of them, staring down into the darkness as she listened to the noise. The sound of water droplets splashing against the concrete floor in three second intervals sounded somewhat familiar to her, and as she stared into the pitch black darkness, the bottoms of the stairs fading until the entirety of the floor was engulfed in black, she let out a prolonged breath, her lips parting as she did so. An odd sort of feeling had crept up on her, making her feel not only nervous and sad, but as her breathing started to escape in shortened spurts, she felt herself getting more and more angry, as well. But the anger she was feeling right now was not just directed toward Bane, but toward herself, and the entirety of her situation. She knew now why the noise was so familiar; it was the noise she had first heard before being forced down into the basement upon her arrival here. Just hearing the water drip was bringing back memories on how she had felt at that time, and now she was experiencing them again.

She shuddered as she finally started to descend the stairs. Her mind instantly brought her back to the day she had been kidnapped. She remembered how nice Isaac was being to her, but she recalled the sinking feeling her stomach as her body told her something was off about him. She remembered leaving Rodger's, after helping him find his snake, and she recalled how Isaac had been waiting for her outside of the limo, his eyes knowing and dark, his demeanor completely different. She had been cautious, but still so stupid. Her fingers twitched as she recalled Isaac's hands on her as he struggled to force her into the back of the limo, just when she was ready to flee, and she remembered the feeling in her legs as she pushed her feet against the frame of the door, struggling against him, so determined to stay out of the car. Her frown deepened when she remembered the man inside who had finally grabbed her legs and pulled her inside, and she thought back to when she had first laid her eyes on Bane, sitting across from her...

Just when she had rounded the corner of the stairs to start to her room, her heart plummeted to her stomach as her body gave a violent jump when her eyes discovered Bane's large frame standing outside of his door, facing her. Jenna figured he must have just stepped out of his room, for the light from inside was now flooding out into the rest of the basement, and illuminating parts of his body and face, leaving the rest in shadow. Her heart had not stopped racing, and because of her thoughts, she found herself feeling the way she had when she first saw him. Goosebumps iced over her exposed skin as her heart began to race, and her lips parted in what could only be described as shock as her eyes wandered over him. Suddenly, Bane was unpredictable again, and like the time she had been captive in the limo with him, she found herself dreading his next move.

The light reflected off the shiny valves on his mask, and his eyes seemed to glow through the darkness. The outward curves of his muscles were shown in the light, while the dips and creases were shadowed, making him appear even more muscular and monstrous. Jenna swallowed as she slowly continued to her room, holding Bane's eye contact, but as those feelings of remembrance faded away, hot anger came back to her once she noticed her cast and sling from the corner of her eye. Bane had seen this change in her face; her features had gone from shocked, maybe even a little frightened, to furious. Her frown deepened, her eyes narrowed, and her eyebrows arched angrily, causing wrinkles to appear in the middle of them. Bane did not care. Suddenly, he enjoyed the hostility directed at him. Jenna found herself unable to take her eyes away from him, but a stronger fire burned inside of her when she noticed wrinkles appear in the corner of his eye, on the side that was illuminated by the light._ Bane's smiling_?! Jenna cursed to herself. Why was he _smiling_? Her lips parted in slight disbelief, and at that moment she watched Bane's eyes drop down to her cast before they slowly wandered upward, and she could have sworn the wrinkles at the sides of his eyes deepened.

Her heart raced faster in furious anger, and finally she forced herself to tear her eyes away from his just when she approached her door. She turned the handle violently and stepped inside quickly before slamming her door shut behind her, the noise echoing throughout the basement.

All the while, Bane's mind had been running wild, encouraging him to go hurt her. But he rationalized them, reminding himself there was no need right now to randomly strike at her. Just witnessing her wallow in this saddened and angry misery was plenty for him right now, and surprisingly fulfilling. When his eyes had dropped to her cast, he was partly filled with intense delight, but another part of him was a little upset over how well her broken arm had been dealt with, and fixed. At the time, he had wanted this. At the time, he found himself _almost _regretting it. But now? Oh, how he enjoyed it. He recalled how easily her bones had snapped, and he remembered being able to feel it as it happened. It felt no different than snapping a thin, little twig. Now, he found himself wishing that he hadn't told Barsad to help her. He would have had more satisfaction in watching Jenna struggle to help herself, and only hurting her arm more as she attempted to keep it still on her own, without the aid of a sling. Her arm would have taken twice the amount of time to heal, if it even ever would, and the limb would be permanently snapped back the wrong way. Bane smiled again.

It had been far too long since Bane had witnessed Jenna this way. As of late, the fight and determination she once carried had faded into a facade' of childish antics and attitudes. The last time he had seen Jenna this angry, and this determined to stay away from him and her situation had been the night he had taken her. After that, he allowed his emotions to get the best of him, and because of this, he had been generously excusing Jenna's behavior. He had spared her because of her fight and determination to live. He had wrongly thought Jenna would continue to stay the same, but because of his kind actions proving to Jenna that he would not kill her, her fighting spirit had vanished, and been replaced with snooty acts of comfort. He had allowed Jenna to have some control over him. _Never again_, he promised himself. Those days were gone.

The desire to kill her was still far gone, and while this upset him already, he grew more upset when he realized suddenly that by returning to his prior ways with her, he would only be strengthening her, and helping her to avoid death all over again. He felt dizzy suddenly due to this thought. Jenna had only been that way when he was rising above her, and not allowing her to do anything. Once he had given in, he gave Jenna some sort of power over him, and in turn had allowed her to act like a needy child. So what did he do now?

_Kill her_, his mind said. _Crush her arm again, break her other arm –snap her legs and shatter her ribs– make her suffer, then kill her slowly..._

_ Kill her quickly_, another optioned rendered. _There's no point to keep living this way. Rid yourself of her, and forget about it. _

_ Just leave her be. _This thought was, unfortunately, the strongest, and the most desirable to follow. His eyes wandered over to her door, and his gray orbs stared at the darkened and scratched wood. He knew what the next part of this thought would entail, and he did everything in his power to avoid it as he finally tore his eyes from her door to start toward the stairs. Unfortunately, the thought powered though: _You kept her alive for a _reason_. Allow that reason to come back to her. Give her a chance. You've supplied her with the opportunity to finally _change_, and learn, once and for all, what is not tolerated. The old Jenna is still in the current spoiled brat somewhere. Give it time..._

–

Jenna's night had been restless, and when she awoke sometime the following morning, she felt as though she hadn't gotten a hint of sleep. Upon waking, she painfully discovered that sometime during the night she had rolled onto her right arm, and in turn her body had been crushing the limb against the cot. As she slowly moved to get her body off of it, she cringed, and held herself back from screaming out a grocery list of profanities. Her upper arm was throbbing, and her forearm gave out strong, painful spurts that shot throughout her entire body. Frowning, Jenna pushed the blanket off of herself and placed her cold feet on the even colder ground, her eyes closed tightly as she waited for the pain to subdue. After a moment or so of sitting there, the pain began to secede more and more, but an immense uncomfortable feeling never left her.

Once she stood, she struggled through putting on a fresh pair of cargo pants and her boots, and deciding that her current white tank top was still fine to wear, after she remembered she had no more cigarettes left, she grabbed her lighter and coat before she cautiously ventured to her door. A few men were littered around in the basement, soft murmurs emitted from some as they discussed something while others stood around. Jenna ignored them as she started toward the stairs, placing her left arm into the sleeve of her coat and letting the right side hang on her shoulder.

Outside, the sun was glaringly bright, but the air was freezing. Large, thick puffs of condensation escaped her mouth as she exhaled, and while she hated this, she ignored it as she started over toward the garage while taking out her lighter.

Her eyes found Isaac stepping outside of the garage, and she watched him give inaudible orders to somebody as he pointed back toward one of the large, square-shaped vehicles. She watched as a few men exited from the garage to jog over toward the vehicles before she set her sights on Isaac again, who had stopped by the building to wait for Bane to join him outside, but once he caught sight of Jenna approaching him, he turned to face her once she had reached him.

"Can I get a cigarette?" Jenna asked him nicely. "I'm out."

Isaac didn't reply as he pulled out his pack, and he handed it to her. Upon opening it, Jenna saw there were a few cigarettes left, and after she plucked one out, she figured Isaac had intended for her to keep the pack, and she tucked it away into her pocket.

"So, I ended up sleeping on my arm last night," she began after she had lit up, Isaac glancing down at her again before he could step away, his eyes squinted due to the sun. "Is that... okay?"

"Probably not," he replied. "Let me see."

Jenna immediately shrugged off the right side of her coat and turned her body toward him, and Isaac placed his hands on her upper arm and the bottom half of her wrist, just above her palm. He gently tugged her closer, Jenna complying with him immediately, and she glanced down to him to watch him study her arm. He looked up to her upper arm, and when he squeezed his fingers around it, he glanced up to Jenna.

"Does that hurt?"

Jenna shook her head. "No."

Isaac moved his hand lower, and squeezed down on the area just above her elbow. "That?"

Jenna shook her head.

"You're fine then," he replied. "But you can't be doing that. You need to keep any and all pressure off of this arm."

"I know," Jenna replied. "It was an accident. Thank you."

Bane had been watching and listening to the entirety of their conversation, and before Isaac could reply, Bane stepped out of the garage and slowly approached them. Seeing his movement from the corner of her eye, Jenna instantly glanced over to him as he stepped up to them, and she couldn't help but to swallow when she noticed he was wearing the coat she had gotten him. His wide and intense eyes were glued onto her, and Jenna found herself glancing away due to the weight in his glare.

"Go inside," Bane spoke evenly to her, and Jenna couldn't help but to glance up at him. Isaac watched her eyes flicker to the cigarette in her hand then back to Bane, and as soon as she opened her mouth to complain about her cigarette, no doubt, Isaac subtly shook his head at her when her eyes darted over to him. Jenna had caught this, Isaac's look stern as he told her not to speak, and Jenna knew this to mean she must, in turn, comply with Bane's orders. She closed her mouth abruptly, and after she glanced back at Bane, she turned to start toward the exit door. She held onto her cigarette, however, and she took a long, angry drag as she walked. Bane kept his eyes focused on her, waiting to see when she would extinguish her cigarette. Just when he felt himself ready to follow her when she stopped on top of the stairs to take another drag, he watched as she furiously tossed it over the edge before pulling open the exit door to stomp inside. He couldn't help but to roll his eyes before turning to Isaac.

"I failed to mention this before, but I will say it now: do _not _help her." Bane's words were stern, and as Isaac looked up to him he immediately began to nod, able to detect the seriousness in his tone. It was clear to him that Bane was struggling to hold himself back from expressing his true annoyance, and Isaac quickly spoke up.

"Yes, sir," he replied just as stern. "Sorry," he added in a mumble.

"Do not be sorry, you didn't know. But starting now, cease your helpful ways. Let her fend for herself. You've done too much already."

Isaac nodded again. "Yes, sir," he added, just to clarify that he understood Bane's orders.

"Finish rounding up the men and get everyone to the fire station. Karly should be finished any minute now."

Bane started to walk away from him to start over toward the exit door, and without missing a beat Isaac was already turning around and shouting more orders to those still in the garage.

After heading inside, Jenna had gone into the bathroom, and now that she was done, she stormed out of the room and started toward the stairs, but as soon as she reached the bottom of them, her eyes instantly found Bane standing near the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her. She ignored him, forcing her eyes away, and she immediately began toward her room.

"You are to _stay in your room_," Bane spoke loudly to her, his footsteps loud as he slowly walked over to her. A cold shock ran through Jenna just before she could enter her room, and she found herself turning around to face him just when he stopped a few feet away. "You may leave _only _when I give you permission."

Jenna couldn't help but to drop her jaw. "Are you serious?" These were her first words to him since the incident. "_Why_?"

"I do not need to explain myself to you," Bane went on. "Do as you're told, or suffer the consequences."

Jenna closed her lips tightly as she sucked in a sharp breath. "Consequences?" She repeated harshly. "Aren't I already suffering through bullshit conseque-"

Before she could finish, Bane had taken a large step toward her, and he cut Jenna off when he grabbed her neck and slammed her against the wall to the left of her door. Jenna gasped and had started to scream as she raised her left hand to dig her nails into his wrist, but instead a mess of faint gurgles escaped from her parted mouth as she was forced to stare into Bane's eyes.

"Do _not _speak to me that way," Bane scolded in a growl that caused Jenna's stomach to drop. "_You _betrayed my trust, which is why you are suffering _these _repercussions." Jenna gasped when Bane tapped his fingers against her cast, pain rupturing from her arm and flowing throughout her body. "Do not assume for a moment that you can no longer get in any more trouble. You've betrayed me once; do it again and I swear it will be the death of you, do you understand?" His tone was low, firm, serious, and primarily controlled, but Jenna picked up on the slight shaking his voice gave off as he spoke, and she knew he was struggling to control himself.

Bane kept his eyes firmly and intently focused on hers, and he did not look away or move a muscle until Jenna struggled to answer him. She attempted to speak her answer verbally, but when this failed, and more choking noises erupted from her throat, she settled on nodding her head as best she could.

"Good," Bane answered. "Do not let me see you out here." He pressed his hand against her throat and crushed her neck into the wall even more as he literally pushed his body away from hers, and once his hand had slid from her neck, Jenna's left hand instantly wrapped around it as she struggled to catch her breath, coughing and gasping all the while, the noise pathetic to Bane's ears. Her head was pounding and the room was spinning, and when she glanced over at him, his glare even stronger, if possible, she quickly scrambled to enter her room. Once she stepped inside, she immediately closed her door with her foot, and as soon as she had she turned to place her back against it. She allowed herself to slide down the wood until she was sitting on the floor, her knees bent and brought up to her chest, and she let out a final cough and finally removed her hand from her neck.

Jenna couldn't remember the last time he had spoken to her like that. His words rough, cold, and heartless, and she could feel how he held himself back when he was squeezing her neck. Their first encounter in the limo, the time before, during and after he was ready to snap her neck in that very room, the death of her parents, his orders to check up on Karly – his tone had never been like that. Ever. Truth be told, it was terrifying, and while Jenna felt her body trembling, she found herself growing more and more upset and mad. Why was Bane so offended by a lie? Why was he so unpleasant, and why was he forcing her to stay in her room? She could only leave when he gave her permission? What if she _had _to exit?

These were questions she'd never obtain answers to, and these were questions that sounded more and more ridiculous to her the more she thought about them. He had already broken her arm, he had already shown her that their previous feelings had been terminated; why punish her _more_? If he really didn't want to see her, why not just be rid of her?

Despite the circumstances, Jenna didn't want to die, but she didn't want to be held captive in her room. It was pointless, it was stupid, and it was unfair. _Fuck him_, she thought to herself. _Fuck you_, she thought of him specifically. How had she ever been attracted to him? Why had she allowed those feelings to consume her, and why had she let herself accept them, and live with them? She had allowed herself to engage in the most intimate act with him –more times than she was willing to admit– and now she felt physically sick with disgust for herself. Unable to help it, she reached up and slammed her fist against the door. _FUCK YOU!_

The weight of the moment was crashing down on her and beginning to take its toll, but despite the desire, Jenna would not let herself cry. She was through shedding any more tears for him. He was not worth it any longer, and Jenna hated knowing that at one point he had been worth it. She had not been the only one to lie; Bane had been lying to her that entire time, about the supposed feelings he had for her, as well. Bane was a bigger liar than anyone else at the warehouse. _Do you realize that_? Y_OU'RE the fucking liar. _

Her left fist starting to throb now, she relaxed it and her arm on her lap as she tilted her head back to rest against the door, her breathing loud and heavy as her chest heaved up and down. She closed her eyes, struggling to find a better place to go to, and once she got there, she allowed the thoughts and mind-rendered images to take her away from her reality.

–

She was at her prime. She was indestructible. She had left her parents behind, and she wasn't planning on returning home anytime soon. She had just told off a couple of tipsy girls –a half screaming match where she had kept her cool, and not risen her voice once– and now that they were gone, and now she had made herself known as somebody not to bother, Jenna's night was looking to get better and better, especially now that Rodger was approaching her with a red solo cup filled half way with some sort of cheap beer.

"Keystone is so disgusting," Rodger complained, though regardless of his preference, he titled his cup to his lips to take a giant sip of it. Jenna watched him cringe, but all she could do was smile widely and loosely as she brushed her long, red hair behind her ear with her right hand.

"Beer is beer," she commented, and she took a satisfying sip of from her own cup. This wasn't what she would have liked to say; at this point, Jenna found herself wanting to start appreciating cheaper material items and products. At her house, her new house, it was always the most expensive champagne in the fanciest, crystal champagne flutes. Part of the reason why Jenna enjoyed these parties so much was due to the simplicity: disposable solo cups, cheap beer, real laughter... no fancy clothes, no important people, and _no _parents.

Around her, the party had reached its peak, with a high attendance of people, loud music, the liveliness of being awake just as the clock struck midnight, and the knowledge that this night was far from over. As Jenna stood next to Rodger, she stared out into the mass of dancing and mingling people, her head nodding slowly the drum beat of the song, her hips begging to swing to the beat, but she stood her ground, just happy to be with her newest and only friend in Gotham, miles and miles away from her house. Rodger had finished his beer, and he stood silently next to Jenna as he, too, stared out into the crowd.

"Do you want to dance?" Rodger asked her a moment later, turning his head to glance up at her through his glasses. Jenna smiled before she glanced down at him.

"Nah," she replied casually, unable to help but to smile at Rodger's question. It was apparent to her that he liked her, his feelings begging to go beyond friendship, but Jenna didn't really know what to think of it, or him in that sense. "I think I'm gonna go smoke, you want to come?" She offered instead, feeling dizzy as she turned her head to quickly to look at him. Rodger smiled, just happy to be included in the plans.

He didn't need to reply, and instead he followed Jenna through the mass of people. Oddly enough, she knew what would happen when she and Rodger got outside: she would smoke her refreshing cigarette, and end up having a pretty deep heart-to-heart with Rodger, the topics ranging from her childhood to her parents, and everything in between. She clutched tightly onto her cup as she raised it above her to head to avoid her hand getting knocked, and she dipped and twisted her way around the people, her eyes flickering over all the unfamiliar faces. Her feet slid easily across the wooden floor, the front door just ahead, and her eyes wandered over the people: a blonde boy with baby-like features, a redheaded girl with thin lips and green eyes, a guy with spiked hair and a wide smile, a brunette man with messy hair, blue eyes, and short stubble...

She felt her heart sink suddenly as she stared at the man, who was staring at her as he walked past to disappear into the weave of people. She began to feel incredibly hot, and as soon as the man disappeared her vision went blurry and stayed that way for a hot second before it returned to normal, and as soon as it had, the man was gone, and she was suddenly at the front door.

_Odd_, she thought to herself as she opened the door to step outside into the warm, Summer night air, Rodger at her heels. That man had seemed so familiar...

Jenna shrugged the issue off as she brought the lighter in her left hand to the cigarette that was suddenly in between her lips. _Weird_, she thought. When had she taken out her pack or the cigarette? Figuring she was more tipsy than she had assumed, she struggled to light her cigarette, the flame refusing to catch, and she wondered vaguely why she didn't just switch hands. But her right arm remained motionless at her side, and after a moment or so of struggling, she finally lit her cigarette, and took a large drag before lowering it.

"Are you having fun?" Rodger asked as he stood next to her. Jenna took another drag, this time the cigarette smoke burning her throat slightly.

"Hell yeah," Jenna replied. "I always have fun at these parties, Rodger. I'm glad you know these people. I'd go crazy staying at my place all the time with..."

She trailed off when she heard a twig snap somewhere in the thick forest that surrounded her, and it sounded as if there was some sort of creek or river flowing somewhere within the darkness. She paused, feeling dizzy as she stared into the trees, the tops illuminated by the bright, full moon, which in turn cast down eerie shadows onto the ground. _Funny, since when is this house located in the middle of the forest?_

"...don't really seem to notice anything else, huh?" Rodger's voice interrupted Jenna's thoughts, and she quickly turned to him.

"What?" She asked as she took another drag, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she inhaled, the smoke seeming to burn her throat even more.

"Your parents," Rodger was going on. "They don't seem to notice anything else but the life of fame and fortune, huh?"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Jenna replied as she rolled her eyes while glancing away into the woods. "It's disgusting. I hate them."

"No you don't," Rodger disagreed lightly. "They might make you angry, but they're your parents, Jenna. You'd be real upset if anything was to ever... _happen_ to them."

Jenna's head snapped back over to Rodger. That tone, the way he spoke those words, slowly, with some emphasis on the word that only he knew the true meaning behind. A lump had risen in Jenna's throat, but as she stared at Rodger, she saw nothing but large glasses, blond, curly hair, and his concerned facial expression.

"Are you okay?" He wondered now.

"Yeah." Jenna forced a smile as she tried to shake off whatever odd feeling she was currently experiencing at the moment. Something about that tone and the words seemed so familiar, but Jenna figured it was just the beer talking. Struggling to find the strength to enjoy herself again, she took another drag, and she cringed as the smoke burnt her throat.

"Why do you smoke?" Rodger asked her now after he had witnessed her pained expression.

"I like it," Jenna replied, her tone coming out more sour than she had meant.

"Aren't you scared of, you know, like lung cancer or something?"

Jenna shrugged. "No," she replied. "I like smoking, I don't want to quit right now. I try not to think about that stuff, so I don't fear the shit that could happen, you know?"

"I can assure you, you have _much _to fear," Rodger replied slowly, darkly, his tone and words catching Jenna's attention. She glanced at him with nervous eyes, but again all she saw was just Rodger. Those words sounded so familiar, like she had heard them before...

"What?" She wondered slowly.

"I said you should fear it. If you don't quit, it could happen to you."

Jenna was staring at him. "Oh..." she replied. "Right."

"Oh, shit!" Rodger suddenly expressed as he patted his hands over his pockets, and Jenna arched an eyebrow. Again, she knew what would happen. She would go with Rodger to her limo, and it was in the limo she would end up kissing him, only to immediately regret it, and later have to gently explain to Rodger that it had been a mistake. She knew this would happen, though at the same time she had to wonder why their conversation just now hadn't gone the way she had remembered it...

"I think I left my cell phone in the limo," Rodger was going on now.

"So?" Jenna wondered.

"So, I forgot to call my parents," Rodger replied as he started down the steps and driveway. Jenna was following him, and she threw her cigarette away.

"So what?" She called after him.

"I told them I'd call and check in," Rodger was replying. Jenna was still following him, and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she glanced down to watch where she was walking. Her vision blurred slightly again, and up above it sounded as if thunder rumbled quietly across the sky, but when Jenna glanced up, she saw the sky was cloudless, and littered with bright, twinkling stars. She stopped short when she saw she had reached the back of the limo, but she noticed quickly that Rodger was no longer there.

"Rodger?" She spoke his name as she spun around, the wind starting to pick up and ruffling her hair. "Rodger?" She called loudly when she was facing the limo again. Her lips parted in confusion, but just when she was ready to call his name again, she jumped and gasped when she laid eyes on that scruffy man with the messy hair, standing directly in front of her when she turned around again. Her eyes widened as her heart skipped several beats, and before she could move, Isaac was grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to turn around.

The limo door was open, and Jenna immediately slammed her feet against the sides of the open door, and using all the strength she could, she pushed against them, refusing to get in the limo. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sounds were emitted from her mouth, and her throat began to burn again. Suddenly, somebody from within the limo grabbed her legs, and Jenna sucked in a sharp breath as he squeezed on them, his finger's crushing force nearly unbearable, and she lost the fight when he forced her legs together before pulling her into the limo. Now forced to stare at the man who had pulled her in, her wide, terrified eyes wandered down the man's face, over his dark gray, evil eyes, and onto his metallic mask...

_ "Jenna Silvera," he spoke her name slowly in some sort of odd accent, that muffled voice enunciating each sound of her name. "We meet at last..."_

Jenna awoke with a gasp as she shot up in her cot, her eyes snapping open, and her chest heaved up and down as she fought to catch her breath. The room was spinning wildly while her arm was sending faint shots of pain throughout her body, and as she breathed, she realized finally how dry her throat was. Her skin was hot and clammy, and she gritted her teeth as she kicked her blankets off of her legs and onto the floor. After another moment or so of deep breathing, Jenna finally opened her eyes, and she rolled them up the ceiling as she turned in her cot to place her feet on the floor, the cold stinging her skin. She wondered vaguely what time it was, but all her mind was allowing her to focus on was her bizarre dream, or nightmare, rather.

She recalled leaning against her door and allowing her mind to think back to one of her favorite memories, which is exactly where her dream had started. She could not recall rising to get into her cot, and upon glancing down, she could not recall ever taking her pants and shoes off. Somewhere, vaguely, in the back of her mind, she could remember allowing her boots to fall noisily onto her pants, and she remembered sleepily hoping that her cigarettes were okay. Thinking back to that party and to Rodger had helped her to calm down some, and her thoughts had carried over into her subconscious to supply her with that dream, only for it all to go wrong.

The dream was composed entirely of memories, and the more Jenna thought about it, the more bone-chilling the dream became. That night had taken place just weeks after her move to Gotham, when she was getting to know Rodger better and when she found herself enjoying those parties more and more. She recalled seeing Isaac in the mass of people, staring at her with all-knowing eyes, waiting to make his move on her... but what was the worst part of the dream, that triumphed over seeing Isaac and even being kidnapped, was Bane's exact words he had once spoken to her and his tones coming from her best friend. Jenna shook her head as she bowed it, still struggling to breathe. It was so daunting to hear Rodger say those things and speak in those tones. It was as if Bane was haunting her, contaminating everything she knew and loved, and destroying it. The dream had forced her to re-live the nightmare of being forced into the limo, and setting her eyes on Bane for the first time...

_"Jenna Silvera... we meet at last."_

His words echoed in her mind over and over again, making her feel worse and worse, until finally she stood up. _It's just a dream_, she told herself as she picked out a pair of sweat pants from her bag to put on. Of course she would have a dream like that. It was nothing more than her subconscious continuing on from her thoughts, and rupturing her solitude by flashing her more recent memories. _It doesn't mean anything_, Jenna decided as she stepped over to her door.

She paused once she reached it, however, Bane's command entering her thoughts. Was she _really _not allowed to go outside of this room without his approval? How would she ever get his approval? If he didn't want to see her, then why would he bother opening her door to tell her she could come out?

It forced Jenna to realize that despite his desires, he _was _treating her like a child in this sense, and Jenna hated it. _What the fuck am I supposed to do then? _She wondered bitterly. _Piss in the corner?_

_ Fuck him_, she went on. At this point she needed to use the restroom, and she wanted to splash some cold water on her face in an effort to rid it from the sweat. Also, she desired a cold drink to help soothe her dry and burning throat. _I'm going out,_ she thought to herself. _I don't fucking care._

Regardless of her determined thoughts, she gently and quietly eased the door open. Glancing through the small space between the wood of the door and frame, she instantly moved her eyes through the dim light to Bane's door, which was shut, then over to the staircase, which was bare of anything or anybody. With a deep, stinging breath, she finally eased her door open a little more, stepped outside of it, and gently closed it behind her.

While she told herself she would stand up to Bane if he was to catch her, she realized 'catch' was the key word here, and that she was truly hoping she could do this quickly without him noticing. She moved up the stairs stealthy and quietly, and judging by the light that was shining in through the windows near the front, boarded entrance of the building, Jenna figured it was sometime in the afternoon. She stepped into the bathroom, closing the door behind her quickly, and after she was finished using the toilet, she washed her hands before she rubbed ice cold water on her face. It helped her to wake up, and it made her feel as if she had rid her face completely of the sweat. Whether she actually had or had not, it made her feel a little better.

After exiting the bathroom, she immediately wandered over to the fridge where she then proceeded to grab a brand new bottle of water. Feeling relieved that she was free and clear of Bane, and would easily be able to return to her room, as soon as she had descended the stairs and reached the basement, her heart sunk deeply into her chest when she saw her bedroom door was open, and she couldn't help but to gasp when she realized Bane was standing just a few feet to her right.

"You follow directions like a _child_," Bane hissed through his mask, the sound muffled and metallic, just like how it had been in her dream. Jenna's eyes widened slightly as she took a step back, but Bane followed her by taking a step forward. "I _told _you to wait for my permission, and you blatantly went against my orders."

"No," Jenna immediately began. "I really had to use the bathroom, and-"

"And _now_ that you've been banished to your room you decide that suddenly you want to partake in consuming whatever the kitchen has to offer?" Bane finished for her, his eyes fierce as he stepped closer to her. Jenna felt her back about to hit the wall behind her and next to the stairs, and she stopped in her tracks, Bane doing the same and stopping less than a foot in front of her. He towered over her, and it felt like Jenna was finally noticing how tall he was for the first time.

"No," she struggled to explain herself. "My throat was dry, I had this-"

"Save it," Bane interrupted roughly. "I do not want to hear your excuses. Consider this your final warning, Jenna, for if I find you outside of that door again, I will kill you, and I'll dispose your body into the creek. Do you understand?"

Jenna didn't reply, and instead she merely glanced down to stare at her open door with a racing and aching heart.

_ "Do you understand?" _Bane repeated firmly, and as soon as he took a step toward her, Jenna quickly glanced up to look into his controlling eyes.

"Yes," she stated quickly. "I understand. I'm sorry," she mumbled on. Bane paused at these words, a small shock stinging the back of his neck, but he instantly ignored this and instead waited for Jenna to move. Not even a second later, she looked down again as she hustled to her room, and only after Bane had heard her door close did he finally start toward his own.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! College has been nothing but cruel to me, and at this point I could really use your reviews, guys. Thank you for the continued support and reading, and a big thanks to my beta! She sees things that I do not, and helps me to fix them :) Please leave me your thoughts!**


	18. A New Level of Torment

The weeks passed agonizingly slow for Jenna. Never in her life had she experienced such unfathomable boredom and loneliness, and as her time in her room dragged on –minutes like hours, hours like days and hours like months– by nearly the second week Jenna felt herself reaching her breaking point.

In the beginning, Jenna couldn't help but take to crying again, regardless of the promise she had once made to herself to stop. All her weakness, sadness, anger and frustration tore down her stronger interior and left her a broken shell of her former self. She cried over being stuck in her room, she bawled over her loneliness, her situation as a whole, and the torment of Bane's words that contentiously echoed in her head. She cried over her actions, her stupidity that her brought her here, and the physical pain she woke up with each morning. As time went on, she shed tears over Rodger, over her sorrow for herself, and for the first time, she wept over her parents, her grief and hatred for her actions to save herself causing her to become physically sick with disgust. Had she died in place of them, at least she would not be suffering. Her parents would live on, and continue to make a shallow difference for Gotham, but a difference no less. At least they would be living for a cause, and standing for something. These thoughts caused Jenna to wonder what, exactly, had she done thus far in their place. What had she amounted to? What had she done to have made their death worth something?

Time alone in her room brought Jenna to feel and decide that perhaps she was just worthless. Perhaps she was a brat after all, who broke down when she didn't get what she wanted. Before, she wanted to be free from her luxurious life style, and when she couldn't get away, she rebelled against the life she could not escape –– a life that was simple and gave her what she wanted anyway. After, she desired life, to avoid death, no matter the cost, but since it was not the free life she wanted, she turned into a child who had no desire to amount to anything. Then, she hungered for Bane, despite how disgustingly wrong it was, but because she had failed at her chances with him –and ultimately her chances for a turn around to her situation and a better life– she found herself wishing for any sort of escape. Why couldn't she win? Why couldn't she realize what she had until it was gone? Why did she always desire something better than what she already had?

It was becoming clear to her that perhaps everything _was _entirely her fault. Isaac's reasons for ending their friendship were still unjust, and Bane was being less than reasonable toward her, especially after proving that he _did _care about her, but her situation now, sitting alone in that cold, dark room, was entirely her fault. She knew betrayal of any sort was not tolerated. She _knew _this, yet she ignored it. She should have just gotten rid of her phone. She should have understood her weaknesses and should have proved her loyalties by just giving Bane her phone and asking him to destroy it for her. She should have told him immediately of her encounter with Rodger, and the clerk at the store, or perhaps have just asked him, first hand, if she could go out and get him the coat. Bane would have listened to her, right? Especially during their current state of lust and developing, deeper emotion.

But why _should _Jenna prove her loyalties? These thoughts only caused her to immediately grow angry at herself for even thinking these could have been more sensible options. Bane stole her away from her life; he took everything she had ever known, broke it, and forced her to live a life that she could not. Prove her loyalties? That man –that monster– did not deserve Jenna's loyalty. Her phone was her property; she had a right to freedom and doing what she wanted. Giving into Bane's rules was just making her turn into a person that she wasn't.

Regardless, she had betrayed him, she had lied, and she had been caught. Adult or child, no matter what her mental state was, under Bane's rules she had to be punished, and she had been. Bane hurt her physically, mentally, and emotionally. If Jenna hadn't lied, she would still be desiring Bane, and whether she realized it or not, living an easier life due to his feeling and care for her. On a more narrow scope, if Jenna hadn't gone after him as he exited her room that fateful day, he would not have touched her. Maybe she would have still been shunned to her room, but at least she would have full use of her right arm and hand.

So it was her fault, fine. Now she had to deal with the outcomes she had brought on herself. Jenna accepted this finally after the first week alone, but by the second, she found herself wishing and praying that change would occur, that something good would start to happen to turn her situation around, even if the aspect was small and materialistic. But nothing new ever happened.

She remained silent in her room, the only noises ever being those of her crying, and the sound the furniture in her room made when she moved it around. She had re-positioned her cot against every wall in the room, and at one point had made a sort of structure around it using the chairs. When this became old after the first night of sleeping with them, she neatly folded and stacked the chairs against the walls. When she grew sick of the look, she took down the rest of the chairs from where they lay messily on the large shelves, and struggled to pull the shelves away from the wall opposite of the door to instead stand against the same wall as the door, next to it. After, she stacked the chairs neatly on the shelves, one by one, until all the chairs were put away. She kept two out, and she used them as end tables on either side of the cot, which she had placed across from the door, the head of the cot touching the wall and coming outward. She sorted through the various items that had been in the room as well, discarding most of it to rest neatly with the chairs on shelves, and she used what interested her to display in her room, including an old lamp that did not work, a broken shard from a mirror, and the knife Isaac had bestowed her with her first night there. She had forgotten about the knife, and now it sat noticeably on the chair to the right of her cot, next to the mirror piece.

During her time of solitude, Bane would approach her door time to time, and simply kick the bottom of it, his way of announcing she could venture outside of her room to take care of what she had to. The first time he had done it, during the second morning of solitude, Jenna had no idea what the noise had been or what it meant. She figured it was an accident, due to someone who had run into the door, but after remembering she had not heard any noises prior, her curiosity got the best of her, and she stepped up to her door. She slowly eased it open, hoping she would not deepen her trouble by simply peeking out of her room. Her eyes instantly found Bane walking away from her door, and upon hearing the faint squeak, he glanced over his shoulder as he slowed his steps. His eyes met hers, and he gave her a simple nod toward the stairs. Assuming he was giving her permission to exit her room, she quickly stepped out and cautiously started toward the stairs, feeling like a pathetic, abused animal.

"You have five minutes," Bane stated as Jenna walked past his still frame now, her eyes on his.

"Can I outside for a cigarette?" She asked, keeping her tone quiet, light, and free of any burning hope or sourness.

"No."

His answer was short, bitter, and to the point. Jenna had no reason to press the issue –she knew it would only result in more pain and Bane taking back his allowances of her exiting her room– and without a word she jogged up the stairs and headed directly into the bathroom.

To her, the kicks against the door always seemed to occur at random times, but she was sure Bane was keeping a schedule. One day during her second week, she kept count of how many times she was permitted to leave, and before she went to bed, she had counted five instances, unsure if whether or not Bane was kicking her door when she was sleeping. She hoped not. By her second week she didn't want to miss any opportunities of getting to leave the drabness of her room.

Jenna did well with staying within her five minute time limit, until the day she was sure she had gone over. Normally, when she ventured upstairs to relieve her bladder and grab something to eat and drink, Bane would remain downstairs, waiting outside of his room to ensure Jenna returned to hers, but one day, just as she exited the bathroom after struggling to quickly wash her hair, Bane coming up the stairs had stolen her attention, and she froze where she stood near the fridge.

"You have ten seconds to return your room, and _that's _being generous. _Move_," Bane then commanded harshly. Dying of thirst due to having another dry throat, Jenna knew she was pressing her luck by grabbing out a water bottle as fast as a lightening strike from the fridge, and she noticed Bane's eyes had widened slightly as she fled past him to rush down the stairs and into her room with a racing heart. Jenna had not made that mistake again.

During the first week, she had nervously smoked the rest of the cigarettes Isaac had given her within the confines of her room, hoping Bane would not smell it and grow upset, and by the second week, she was _dying _for a cigarette. It was clear to her by then Bane had more than likely commanded Isaac to leave her alone, for Jenna hadn't really seen him at all. The one time she had upstairs, he had been heading toward the ladder to his room. She had paused near the counter, forcing a small smile on her face, but before she could say hello, Isaac immediately turned away and began up the ladder without so much as a glance back to her. Jenna's one and only support in this nightmarish life was now gone, and it only caused her to begin to feel more lonely and hopeless.

By the middle of the third week, after having done all she could to stay busy and keep her mind occupied, she took to a new habit, a habit that helped to consume her mind and help her to feel feelings she hadn't undergone in a while. Hour by hour, day after day, Jenna took to just _thinking. _Not about Bane or her situation, but rather recalling memories, and more so coming up with scenarios for nearly everything she could think of.

She began with picturing how her life would have been had she never met Bane. She thought back to the charity party, and in response to Isaac never having attended, Jenna would have successfully sneaked out of her house, and enjoyed attending some random party with Rodger. From there, she let her mind wander.

She would have returned late that night, and more than likely woken up with the same sour attitude that next morning. She would have gone to get her coffee, only this time she would have returned to go to her modeling appointment with her mother. _So what_, Jenna thought. At this point, being on the cover of some stupid magazine seemed like Heaven right now. She would have gone to the appointment, and just done what her mother would have told her.

_"Stand straight, Jenna. Oh, no, no, no, don't do that cliché' pose! Do this!" _Her mother would have complained. Jenna smiled when she pictured the photographers to glare at her mother before reminding her that _they _were in charge, and Jenna was to do what they told her. Her smile widened when she pictured her mother sulking in the corner.

After, she would have returned home, changed into something more casual, and joined Rodger at his house to discuss plans for the night, when he was finished with his college classes. From there, she would have just continued living her life the way it had been going; obeying her parents, attempting to rebel, and enjoying her time with Rodger as an escape.

This scenario gave her the desire to picture something what would have truly made her happy. She was alone, and living on her own in some big, crowded city. She did not know how she got there, or how she afforded anything, but that was irrelevant for this fantasy. In this city, _nobody _knew her. She was accepted as a regular citizen, and was no more special than the next person. Her parent's didn't bother her, and she didn't care. She kept in close contact with Rodger, but mostly she enjoyed the freedom of being alone in her own house.

As she lay in her cot under her blanket one night, shivering, she pictured herself to have a giant, jacuzzi tub. That particular night, she ran herself a bath –a bubble bath– and after piling her long, luscious, clean red hair in a messy bun on top of her head, she stepped into the warm water before sinking down into the tub, the bubbles tickling her chin. But why stop there? This was a fantasy meant to play to her highest, trivial desires right now. She had her music playing on the radio. Her feet were kicked up comfortably on the edge of the tub, her toenails perfectly painted a strong shade of black, and as she relaxed in the warmth of the water, she held a cigarette in between her fingers, the smoke lazily flowing to the ceiling before calmly dissipating. Next to her on the tiled ridge of the tub was a simple glass of cherry flavored Coke, and after taking a drag from her cigarette and a sip of her drink, she would have achieved maximum comfort and relaxation.

After nearly an hour of relaxing in the tub, she would step out, and just hang out in her towel around the house until she went to sleep in her warm, soft bed.

_If only_, she had thought. By her third week, she allowed herself to imagine another man in the picture. This man had jet black hair and a clean shaven face. He was tall, dark and handsome, a total cliché, but she was safe within her mind. He was kind and gentle, rough when the situation called for it, and always there for her. He was her friend, her lover, and in her fantasy, Jenna had never felt so strongly about anybody. She lived with him in his vast apartment on the top floor, and each evening she would enjoy sharing a cigarette with her man on the balcony that overlooked that same, busy city she had pictured before. They were invisible to everyone else; just two more faces living in the city, and they loved each other.

Or... maybe they didn't love each other, Jenna thought sleepily one night, mere minutes from falling asleep. Maybe Jenna's fondness for him died out, and she found some sort of sick pleasure in seeking out other men to be with, and keeping it a secret from tall, dark and handsome. She pictured herself at some sort of dance club, and after a few beers, she's feeling pretty good. She makes her way onto the dance floor, and immediately begins swaying her hips to the beat, only to slow her actions when she feels somebody behind her. A smirk playing upon her lips, she slowly glances over her shoulder at the man who had come up smoothly behind her. He's cute –really attractive, actually– and Jenna can't help but to grind herself against him. He responds well by placing his hands on her hips, and Jenna can't help but to lean her head back on his shoulder and sigh as he pulls her body closer to his as the beat carries on, their bodies never ceasing movement.

Suddenly, she feels some sort of tickle against her temple, something prickly rubbing against it. Her eyebrows furrowing, she opens her eyes to look up at the man, and her heart skips several beats as a cold flash overcomes her body. _Isaac? _

The music plays on, the bass hard and heavy, and her eyes widen as Isaac tightens his grip on her hips. Her jaw drops. Why is Isaac here, and why is she dancing with him? She knows it's wrong, but her body continues to move against his, her hips moving slowly with the beat, and her eyes slide closed as Isaac's starts to slide his hands slowly down her body, going lower, and lower, and lower...

Jenna woke with a start that following morning. Breathing deeply, her eyes snapped open, and she stared up at the ceiling for a long while. It was clear to her now that her fantasy had carried over into a dream, but why Isaac? _Well,_ Jenna thought. _Isaac sort of makes sense... _Admittedly, Jenna missed him. She missed his help, their talks, and she wished she could have the chance to prove to him that she would no longer take advantage of anything he offered to her. But still, why had that dream been so... intimate?

Jenna decided to abandon her thoughts and deem the dream as meaningless, and something not to worry about. It was just her subconscious' way of symbolizing something she missed dearly.

About ten minutes after waking, she jumped when she heard the intrusive yet welcoming kick on her door. She moved to get out of the cot quickly, wondering if her time started when Bane kicked the door, or when she exited her room. Either way, she didn't want to waste any time that was granted to her, and after she put on a pair of sweat pants and adjusted her sling, she quickly moved to her door and opened it.

She heard a TV, and as she started past Bane's room, the door open, she couldn't help but to glance inside.

_"...found nearly a week ago, officials predict the death to Mr. And Mrs. Silvera to have happened nearly two months ago."_

Jenna halted in her tracks, and she took a step back before cautiously wandering toward Bane's room to stop a little more than a foot away from the door frame, and a lump had risen in her throat as she stared at the TV.

_"What kind of city do we live in where these people have been decaying in their home for months, without anybody knowing!?" _A random man on the streets began, a news reporter holding a microphone up to his mouth. The man's eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head in disgust. _"I mean, that's a long time! How come nobody realized that! How come nobody looked into this family's random disappearance sooner?"_

The TV cut to Jenna's house, her property wrapped in yellow police tape, and as she watched officers moved in and out of the door, the lump in her throat grew twice the size when the camera cut to one of her parents in a zipped body bag.

"You're wasting your time," Bane spoke suddenly, tearing Jenna's attention away from the TV, and when she glanced to her right, she saw Bane sitting at the edge of his bed, watching the TV as well.

"What's going to happen now?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask, although talking to him at this point seemed like a waste of time, itself.

"The police will strengthen their efforts in the search for you," Bane began in somewhat of a flat voice, never turning to look at her. "And the funeral for your parents will be broadcasted for weeks as police begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together."

"What do you mean?"

"They will come looking for me, as well. You have three minutes."

Frowning, Jenna immediately rushed to the stairs and headed directly to the bathroom.

What had taken so long for her parents to be found, Jenna wondered later that day as she lay in her cot. Wouldn't her house have been the first place people searched? The door was unlocked, she was sure other house workers had been going there. The thoughts disturbed her. Gotham was more disgusting than she had thought.

Perhaps realizing that the city would be searching for her and Bane should comfort her, but it didn't. It frightened her. What if Bane killed her just before the police could find her, before she could be rescued? Jenna refused to feel hope, for she knew hope was nonexistent anymore...

–

The following evening, Bane stepped up to her door and left a simple kick on the wood, startling Jenna from within her room for a mere second before she immediately got out of her cot. Not even five seconds later, Jenna opened her door and immediately began to rush toward the stairs.

"Come here," Bane suddenly called after her from within his room, watching Jenna halt dead in her tracks before slowly turning around. Her heart had immediately began to race, but regardless she followed his command and began slowly to his room. She stopped at the door frame, and she watched Bane turn around from his desk, his large vest in his hand that he held low by his legs. "All I need is a simple yes or no answer. Do you want to accompany me with something in town?"

His question confounded her, but she was desperate to leave her room, even if that meant going with Bane somewhere. "Yes," she mumbled.

"Get dressed," he told her. "And meet me outside in no less than three minutes."

Jenna turned around quickly to rush into her room, knowing very well that it would take her the entire three minutes just to change her shirt and put on a black tank top. As she moved as quickly as she could, she wondered where she would be going with Bane, and suddenly she couldn't help but to feel more scared than she did happy to be out of her room for more than five minutes. She had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that staying back in her room would have been the better choice, but as always, she tried to ignore this feeling.

When she stepped outside into the crisp, cold air, she wrapped her left arm around herself, but she was too occupied to get mad over forgetting her coat. Just below the stairs, her eyes focused on Isaac's truck, the vehicle running, the passenger side door open, and when her eyes wandered toward the back of the truck, she could see Bane's silhouette sitting the back, the light from the setting sun shining through the windows. She swallowed, and she immediately began to feel dizzy when Isaac rounded the truck. He glanced up at her from the bottom of the stairs, and nodded toward the truck. Jenna stared at him for a long moment, wishing she could ask him what was going on, but he turned away suddenly to start for the driver's side. Jenna snapped out of her daze and moved down the stairs before climbing into the lifted truck, and as soon as she closed her door, Isaac put the truck in gear and started off the property.

The sun was setting, and while the scenery was peaceful, the feeling within the truck was anything but. Jenna could feel Bane's haunting presence behind her, and in the back of her mind all she could picture was him breaking her arm, over and over and again. As the ride went on, she began to realize their destination would be anything but casual. Isaac kept his tired eyes focused intently on the road, his right hand placed on top of the steering wheel, and even though there was a pack of cigarettes in the cup holder, he never touched them. Jenna realized now that she was accompanying them on some sort of serious mission.

Her stomach filled with lead due to the thought, and it weighed her body down into the seat as she began to feel extremely dizzy. Where we they going? Why was Bane allowing the abandonment of her punishment to include her?

By the time they got into town, the sun had set completely, and thick clouds had rolled in to blanket the sky. Jenna turned her head slightly to look at Isaac, who had not moved his position or hand on the wheel since their departure from the warehouse, and although he appeared tired, his focus was obvious. This only caused Jenna to feel even more nervous. She rolled her eyes toward the left more to sneak a glance at Bane. He sat in the middle of the seat, his eyes focused out of the windshield, his arms rested on his parted legs and hands meeting in the middle. He appeared as intimidating as ever, but once his eyes slowly moved to glance over to her, as soon as their eyes locked Jenna quickly faced forward again.

Isaac knew Jenna was growing more nervous by the minute by the way she stole glances at him and Bane, the way she couldn't focus her attention on any one thing for more than a few seconds, and by the way she had started to anxiously play with her fingers, bringing her left hand to her right within the cast. After watching her do this for a short few seconds he glanced away.

As soon as Jenna recognized the neighborhood Isaac had turned on to, her heart began to pound in a frenzy. Sweat started to form on her brow while her stomach twisted in knots, and she had to open her mouth to breathe. Her aqua eyes grew wide as she watched the familiar houses pass by, and as soon as Isaac had parked in front of Rodger's house, Jenna's body began to physically tremble. As soon as Isaac shut the car off, he stepped out of the truck, moved the driver seat up, and rounded the truck to open Jenna's door. Unsure of what else to do, she glanced over her shoulder at Bane, who remained still in the darkness of the back seat, the streetlights shining through the windows and reflecting off of his mask and eyes. He gave her a firm, simple nod toward Isaac, and forced to do what he silently commanded, she slid nervously out of the car, hesitating at first.

Isaac closed the door behind her and immediately started up the driveway, leaving Jenna to stand by the truck, staring at him. Once Isaac noticed she was not near him, he glanced over his shoulder and frowned when he saw Jenna by the truck, staring at him with widened, anxious eyes. He nodded his head to the right, silently commanding her to follow him. Jenna closed her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath from her nose, her heart racing faster now. She didn't want to follow Isaac, and she didn't want to know what would happen once they approached Rodger's door. She jumped a second later when she suddenly heard a loud tap behind her, and upon turning around she watched Bane impatiently point toward the house through the window as he glared at her. Her bottom lip starting to tremble, she swallowed before finally turning around to approach Isaac.

Jenna followed a few steps behind him, terrible thoughts and images running through her mind, but when she watched Isaac pull out a hand gun from a holster on his belt before holding it down below at the side of his leg, Jenna's knees nearly gave out, and she tripped slightly before catching her balance.

"Isaac..." she mumbled, frightened, when they had stopped at Rodger's closed and locked front door. Isaac turned his head slightly to glance down at her, but Jenna could not make out the emotion his face and eyes held, for as soon as he looked at her, he was turning to face forward again to pull open the screen door and leave three, heavy knocks on the thicker door.

The area around her began to spin as her vision darkened around the edges. They were going to kill Rodger's family! They were going to kill Rodger! _No, no, no, no, NO! _

"Isaac!" Jenna breathed desperately as she looked over to him, but as soon as she had, she heard the door starting to unlock, and she gasped slightly when Isaac reached out with his right hand to clutch the fabric of her shirt on her back, and he moved a step back before forcing Jenna in front of him. At that very moment, the door opened, revealing Rodger's father, and Isaac pushed Jenna inside the house while he raised his gun, never letting go of Jenna's shirt.

"One wrong move and I'll blow your head off," Isaac warned sternly as he stared at Rodger's father dead in the eye, the barrel of the gun pointed directly at his head. Jenna's jaw dropped when she saw the fear hit his face, and she jumped when Isaac suddenly pushed her away from himself. Jenna flinched at the pain that overcame her body due to her arm being jerked, but when she turned back to Isaac she saw that he had a hand gun in each hand now, and he was pointing either one at Rodger's father and mother, who had just started into the entrance of the house, only to pause immediately as she stared into the barrel of Isaac's gun. She raised her hands in defense, and once her eyes wandered over to Jenna's, she stared at her, terrified and bewildered, but nothing could describe what Jenna felt when she heard a bedroom door open from upstairs.

"Rodger, no!" His mother screamed. "Stay upstairs!" She called desperately, but it was too late. Rodger had already appeared at the top of the stairs, and when Jenna glanced up at him, she saw how terrified he looked, as well. But when his eyes found hers, and she watched absolute concern and fear directed at her overcome his face, she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. _My fault, my fault, my fault... _she repeated to herself.

Outside, Jenna cold hear heavy footsteps, and she closed her eyes tightly when she heard the door open. Bane stepped inside the house, immediately closing and locking the door behind him, and Jenna felt him step beside her, his presence thick, repulsive, and very unwanted. Bane glanced at Isaac and nodded toward the wall behind him, and Jenna opened her eyes when he began to speak.

"Against the wall!" Isaac called to Rodger's parents. _"Move, now!"_

Jenna watched Rodger's parents desperately scramble to move toward the wall near Isaac, their eyes never leaving the barrels of the guns, and once they reached the wall, Isaac forced Rodger's mother to turn and kneel, her face pressed against the wall, and his father immediately followed her actions. Isaac moved behind him, his back facing Jenna, and he cocked the guns before placing each of the barrels against their heads, a weep escaping loudly from his mother. Rodger had been watching this too with a pounding heart, but as soon as Bane began to speak, goosebumps covered his arms, and his face went pale.

"Well Rodger, it seems as though you have been caught up in Jenna's lie, which is terribly... _unfortunate _for you," Bane said in that muffled but loud, metallic voice. Jenna raised her eyes to Rodger, and her stomach dropped to her feet as she stared at his expression. His jaw had dropped, his eyes had widened to twice their normal size, and he openly trembled as he stood, frozen, on the top of the stairs. Jenna bit down on her lip sadly as she stared at him for another second, but eventually it became to hard to look at him. It killed her to see him so frightened.

Beside her, Bane raised his large hand, engulfed in that brown, leather arm band, and he motioned Rodger down the stairs with just his finger. Swallowing, Rodger stepped a shaking foot in front before he started to slowly move down the stairs. Jenna immediately began to shake her head at him, but Rodger knew he had no choice but to listen to Bane, his mind unable to fathom that his best friend had been with him this entire time.

Once he had made it down the stairs, Jenna watched Bane turn to Isaac, who had turned his head to watch Rodger before meeting Bane's eyes, and without anything having ever been said, Isaac turned back to Rodger's parents, and he pushed the barrel of the gun harder into Rodger's mother's head before looking down to his father.

"If you try anything, your wife will be blown half way to hell, do you understand?"

Nothing but a sniffle escaped past Rodger's father, and Jenna jumped when Isaac slammed Rodger's father's forehead against the wall with the gun.

"Answer me," Isaac ordered firmly.

"Yes!" Rodger's father finally shouted. "I understand! Please don't hurt her! Please don't hurt my son! _Please!_"

Jenna felt goosebumps cover her entire body, head to toe, before it went completely numb when she heard Bane chuckle beside her, and she couldn't help but to glance up at him, anger replacing her fear for a hot moment. But once she turned back to Isaac to watch him take out a knife from its case strapped onto the shoulder of his vest, never letting go of the gun he had been pointing at Rodger's father, the fear washed over her again. Isaac glanced over to Bane and turned his body slightly to hand Bane the knife. As soon as Bane accepted it and started toward Rodger, Jenna could no longer hold herself back anymore when Bane stopped behind Rodger and took a firm hold of either side of his head, knife still clutched in his massive hand.

"No!" She screamed as she took a step forward toward them. "Bane, please! I lied, n-not him! _Punish me!_"

Bane smirked as he kicked the back of Rodger's knees to force him to kneel in front of him, and Jenna's heart disintegrated away when she saw deep wrinkles appear on either side of Bane's eyes.

"I am," he replied, his tone amused. Jenna paused, feeling as lightheaded as ever as confusion washed over her, but when she watched Bane let go of Rodger's head with his left hand to hand her Isaac's knife, she stumbled back in disbelief, her eyes falling onto Rodger.

"Kill him," Bane commanded, but when Jenna didn't move, he felt himself instantly losing patience. "Come over here and _kill him_."

Jenna mouthed the word 'no' as she shook her head sternly, her eyes fixed on Bane's now, and she felt tears start to run down her face.

"_You've _made the mistake of dragging Rodger into your _lies!_" Bane hissed as he raised his voice, and when Rodger started to move against him, Bane placed his left hand back against the side of Rodger's head to hold him in place, this time pressing the cold steel of the knife against his temple. "You've brought this all on yourself, and if you don't come here right now and kill this man, you will hate what is in store for _you_."

Visibly shaking, Jenna suddenly found herself gasping for air as she struggled to breathe, her fear heightened to a new level, and she closed her eyes as she bowed her head. What could possibly be worse than _this, _right now? Bane was forcing her to kill her best friend!

"I mean it, Jenna," Bane pressed on through gritted teeth as Rodger struggled against him. Holding onto Rodger was easy, but Jenna's lack of movement and her fish-out-of-water expression was grinding down his last bit of patience. "If you don't kill him _now _I'll break every bone in your body, one after the other."

Jenna flinched at his threat, and as soon as she glanced up to Bane again with widened eyes, he went on further.

"You'll live in a world of sick torture, Jenna, and I'll make sure to leave your life dangling on a _thread _before I kill _you _slowly. _Kill him!_" Bane's voice boomed and echoed throughout the house, causing not only Jenna to flinch again, but Rodger and his parents to jump and whimper further.

It was right now that Jenna should have said no once and for all, and accepted her fate in order for Rodger and his family to live. She should be the one dying, not Rodger, not his family; they hadn't done anything. Jenna didn't deserve to live anymore. Jenna would be just as bad as Bane...

But the will to live was too strong. Bane's threats frightened her, her selfishness over powered her, and she could not stop herself from stumbling up to Bane and Rodger. Isaac had turned to watch the scene over his shoulder, but Jenna didn't look at him. Instead, as she let out a giant sob, her eyes were focused on the knife Bane was handing her again, and before she knew it, she was taking the knife from him, a shock running up her spine when her fingers brushed against his accidentally. When Bane placed his hand on the side of Rodger's head, Jenna felt her herself about to vomit when Bane stepped down on Rodger's leg, his face crippling in pain as he hissed through his teeth, his body ceasing to struggle against Bane's now.

"Stab it through his throat. Make him suffer along with you," Bane was speaking as Jenna knelt down in front of Rodger. She lifted her eyes to stare at him from behind her tears that were gathering in her eyes and pouring down her face, and she sniffled loudly.

"Now, Jenna," Bane went on firmly.

"Please... n-no," Jenna tried to beg as she shook her head again. "Don't-"

Bane's eyes hardened as he sucked in a sharp breath. "_Now_," he growled. Jenna's face crippled into more tears as she glanced back down to Rodger. It was clear to her now that there was no stopping this if she wanted to continue to live.

"Rodger," Jenna choked out his name. Her lips trembled as more sobs wracked her body, and she shook her head back and forth, able to feel actual bile crawling up her throat. "I'm so sorry." This was unfair. This wasn't right. But yet, here was, still choosing herself over anybody else due to fear of Bane hurting her further. What was wrong with her? Why was she so sick?!

Rodger was shaking his head. "Jenna, no," he mumbled sadly, tears starting to fall down his own face. This killed Jenna. This _was _her death. How could she ever go on knowing that she had killed her best friend? Why didn't she stop herself while she still had the chance? Fear, she knew. Strong and intense fear was pushing her actions on.

"I am losing patience Jenna!" Bane yelled suddenly, causing her to jump. Her body trembling violently, in the heat of the moment and without thinking Jenna lifted the knife in her left hand, placed the tip against Rodger's neck, and she screamed as she pushed the knife in far more deeper than necessary until there was an inch gap in between the handle of the blade and Rodger's wound. Blood spilled onto her left hand and ran down her arm, drenching it in red, and her sobs grew stronger as she fell back into a sitting position. She listened to Rodger's mother scream, his father cry, and Rodger gurgle and choke between Bane's hands. But just when she thought the worst was over, two gun shots rang throughout the house, one after the other, and Jenna crumbled under the weight of her best friend and family's death. Her mouth hung open, she was unable to breathe, and her eyes refused to open. She felt a heavy hand on the back of her shirt suddenly, and Bane forced her to stand before he spun her around to push her toward the door, where Isaac was already waiting outside.

Jenna stumbled out of the door, her foot hitting the ground awkwardly, but as soon as she began to fall, screaming and sobbing as she started downward, Isaac caught her. Bane grabbed the back of her shirt before Isaac could help her up, and he pulled Jenna harshly, her back slamming against his body.

"_Stop_," he growled, his arm starting to shake due to how tense his hand was as he clutched her shirt. Without warning, he shoved her away from himself, and Jenna stumbled down the driveway slightly before she corrected her footing. Stop? Stop crying? _How _was she supposed to do that? How could Bane ever expect that from her at a time like this? He had forced her to kill her best friend. He had bestowed her with the ultimate punishment. Now, Jenna was completely alone. Bane was disgusted with her, Isaac was not allowed to talk to her, her family was dead, and now Rodger was dead. Jenna had _nobody. _These terrible thoughts only caused that same bile to rise in her throat again, and before she could stop herself, she was hunching over and vomiting freely onto the driveway. Coughing and choking as she did so, once it was over, she stumbled back, wiping her mouth with her left hand, and she whimpered loudly when Bane forced her toward the truck.

Before she knew it, Isaac was parking the truck near the garage, and Jenna watched with squinted, red eyes as the headlights reflecting from the closed garage door were shut off. She listened as he stepped out of the truck before Bane pushed the seat forward to climb out, and a few seconds later she heard her door open. She sat there for a moment, feeling too exhausted to move, but when she felt a hand touch her upper arm, just above her cast, she jumped before quickly moving to get out of the truck. Isaac had been the one to touch her, and when Jenna saw Bane storming toward the exit door she calmed down slightly, but nothing could explain the sorrow and disgust she felt at that moment.

She moved slowly through the dark toward the exit door, and by the time she reached her room and was shutting the door, she could not recall having ever moved down the stairs. Her eyes were heavy, her mind was filled with terrible, close-up images of Rodger, dying due to her selfishness, and as soon as she glanced down to her blood-soaked arm, her face crippled as more tears spilled down her face. Sure, being covered in blood made her feel disgusting, but this was the blood of her _best friend_, who had faced a terrible death due to _her. _

Thinking this only made it worse, but she knew she was unable to wash the blood off right now. She had already returned to her room, and now she was to stay in there until she heard that all too familiar kick against her door. She climbed into her cot, struggling not to let her left arm touch the underside of the blanket, and sniffling as tears ran down her cheeks and neck. Her head began to pound as she rested it on the pillow, and once she covered herself with the blanket, she let her bloodied arm rest on top of it. Jenna didn't want to sleep, but her body was too fatigued to keep her awake. Perhaps sleeping at this point would be welcoming. Perhaps her dreams could take her to a better place...

She found herself outside suddenly. The sun was setting behind the warehouse, but the air was warm. Walking toward the garages, she realized she had full use of her right arm, for both of them were swinging slightly at her sides as she walked. _I'm dreaming, _she thought.

Isaac was leaning against the wall near the opened garage door, a cigarette in between his fingers, and he stared off into the distance as he exhaled a thin stream of smoke from between his lips. The sun was getting lower and lower, and as he stared at it disappearing behind the horizon –deep gold colors cast over his face, the concrete, and building– he lifted his cigarette to take another steady drag as Jenna continued to approach him, her eyes focused on him. He was still clad in cargo pants, a dark gray shirt, and a thick vest similar to Bane's, and Jenna couldn't help but to swallow. As soon as she approached him, Isaac turned to her, his hair ruffled, his eyes slitted and tired-looking, as always, and he pulled out his pack of cigarettes without Jenna having to ever ask.

"Why did he make me do that, Isaac?" She asked him, shaking her head as she started to glance down. She jumped when she felt a cigarette be placed gently between her lips, and as soon as she looked up again, Isaac lit the end of the cigarette. Jenna inhaled before grabbing the cigarette in between her fingers while Isaac shrugged.

"Punishment, I guess," he responded as he leaned back against the wall, his eyes focused intently on her, a frown on his face.

"It should have been me," Jenna went on now as she stared down at the ground, too tired to take another drag after she exhaled. "I should have been the one to die."

Isaac's frown deepened as he stared at her, and he started to shake his head. "This is what you choose when you begged for life, and granted permission of your parent's death. I can understand why you're upset, but this your life now. This is where you must stay."

"I don't want to anymore," Jenna said quietly, her eyes closing as a single tear slid down her cheek. "I can't anymore..." She whispered.

"I know that's not true," Isaac replied as he leaned off of the wall, and in her line of sights from where she stared at the ground, she saw Isaac's boots appear, and when she glanced up slowly she was slightly startled to see how close he was to her now. "If that were true, you wouldn't have killed him."

His words felt like a slap in the face to Jenna, and she couldn't help but to take in a sharp breath as she glanced down again, a slight breeze blowing through her hair. Jenna shook her head.

"It should have been me..."

Isaac was already shaking his head at this, his eyes narrowing on her, and he reached his hand out to place the side of his finger on Jenna's chin. His action startled her slightly, but she allowed him to lift her head until she was staring into his blue eyes, filled with sadness and worry. Her lips parted when Isaac gently ran the tips of his fingers along her jaw line, his fingers cool, soft, and welcoming against her skin, but as soon as he stretched his hand slightly to rest at the top of her neck, just below her ear, loud, terrifying thunder rumbled across the sky, and at that moment Isaac was gone.

Jenna woke with a start, and only after she stared at the wall for a second, breathing hard and sweating, did she realize Bane had just kicked her door, and she listened as he walked away from it now. Her heart was racing, her mind was foggy, and just faintly, she felt as though she could still feel Isaac's hand on her neck. From the under the covers, she brought her left hand up to touch her fingers to her neck, and as soon as she thought back to her dream, her heart began to race faster.

She had no desire to leave her room. Bane was out there, and she knew she would be unable to even look at him after what he had made her do to Rodger the night before. However, as soon as this thought crossed her mind, she took her hand from her neck to glance at her left hand and arm, and she grew more confounded when she saw the limb was bare of any blood. She couldn't recall having ever gone to the bathroom to wash it; the last thing she remembered was returning to the warehouse and going directly into her room. But clearly, she must have left her room at one point to wash the blood away.

Her back now starting to hurt, she turned onto her left side, flinching when her arm shot a spurt of pain throughout her body, but she was too tired to complain about it. All she could think about was Rodger, and the last impression she would ever have of him: terrified, shocked, confused... Because of what Bane had made her do, Rodger was gone forever. Now, Jenna would learn what real loneliness was like.

–

Throughout the day, Bane had contentiously approached Jenna's door, leaving a loud kick on the bottom of it before heading away from it, but when he approached her door for the seventh time that day, twice more than the normal amount of times he allowed for her to exit, his confusion and curiosity had reached an all new, heightened level. Jenna hadn't emerged once during the entire day. She hadn't even ever touched the door. This, truly, was odd, especially when Bane knew how eager she was to get out of that room, even if it was just for exactly five minutes at a time.

Now, he lifted his boot from the ground to kick her door, and rather than turning to leave, he waited, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the handle of the door, waiting for it to move. But after a minute had gone by of pure silence, he lifted his foot to kick the door again, louder this time. After another silent moment, Bane's curiosity threatening to be the death of him, he reached out to place his hand on the knob of the door. What had Jenna been doing in there all day that was more important than getting to leave?

When he pushed open the door, he saw the room was dark, and the first thing he did was reach out with his left hand to snap the light on. As soon as he did, he saw Jenna was lying in her cot, now located directly across from him. His eyes wandered to the left and right of the room, noticing that at one point she had moved all the chairs and shelves, and kept two chairs out to place at either side of the cot, before they focused back on it. Her blanket was pulled up to her hip, exposing her black tank top and white sling, and when Bane's eyes found her face, he saw she was awake, her head turned to the left, her sleepy eyes staring at the wall. She had ignored the sound of the door and the lights snapping on, but after Bane had been standing there for a few seconds, she finally got past her delayed reaction and rolled her eyes to the right. As soon as she did this, however, she immediately looked away, and Bane watched as she closed them, her lips thinning in unison. Her action was foreign to Bane, it was not what he had been expecting from her, but realizing finally that she hadn't been doing anything important or trying to harm herself, he spoke up.

"Your time does not accumulate, you know. You are allowed five minutes each and every time you leave this room. Why haven't you left today?"

Jenna kept her eyes closed as she ignored him, and she wished wildly that he would just go away. Not looking at him helped somewhat, but having to listen to his voice was a million times worse than the sight of him. All she could hear were his words repeating over and over in her mind: _"kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him."_

Jenna never said anything, and she never moved her position, opened her eyes, or even loosened her lips. This upset Bane, and he took in a nearly silent, sharp breath.

"Answer me," he commanded, but Jenna remained still and silent. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter, trying to keep her tears locked inside, but one pushed through, and now slid down her cheek and onto her pillow. Losing his patience, Bane stepped further into her room. "_Jenna_," he spoke her name sternly.

Finally, Jenna's eyes opened, but she still did not look at him. "I don't want to leave," she finally said in a quiet voice. "Please go away."

Her words were slightly shocking, but Bane didn't let this feeling show through his exterior. He understood why she would be upset with him, but he couldn't fathom why she was being so dramatic... and calm.

"You dare command _me _to go away?" He questioned as he took another step closer to the cot. Jenna meant to take a breath in through her nose, but when she sniffled instead, she couldn't help the tears that finally started rolling down her cheeks. "After all this time, have you really not learned-"

"Just GO!" Jenna suddenly raised her voice without thinking, and she lifted her head to finally look at him. Finally, Bane saw the severity of how red her eyes were, the aftermath of much, _much_ crying, and he watched more tears fall down her face before he furrowed his brow.

Many questions and statements ran through his mind, all begging to be announced verbally, but before he could choose one himself, a very unwanted question was already making its way out of his mouth. "Why are you crying?"

_ Unbelievable, _he thought.

Jenna shook her head as she laid her head back down. For somebody so intelligent, had he _really _just asked that question? Why the fuck else would she be crying right now? Not only did Jenna decide that question did not deserve an answer, she was too upset to even open her mouth to give him one.

A wave of annoyance washed over Bane due to his question, but the damage had already been done. He had already asked the question, and now, truthfully, he wanted an answer. "Jenna," he went on. "Answer me-"

_"You _made me_ kill _him!_"_ Jenna finally shouted, her voice cracking. Sobs wracked her body as her words and thoughts sunk into her all over again upon affirming the truth.

Her words sent a pure rush of shock to overcome Bane, and he couldn't help but to be startled by her words. His eyes widened and his brow furrowed when he saw her tiny body begin to shake, and his lips parted upon hearing her cries from her tired and cracking voice.

"You made me..." Jenna mumbled on as new tears spilled down her face, and she closed her eyes before burying her face in her pillow. _Why can't he just leave?!_

"Kill... who?" Bane asked, truly bewildered. He sounded so confused, so intrigued to know who Jenna was talking about, and this upset her even more. Suddenly, she couldn't control herself, and she whipped around quickly to glare at him.

"Rodger!" She hissed harshly. "Rodger. You made me sta- stab him," she stuttered. "Then you-"

"No," Bane interrupted, his head already shaking. "Jenna... what are you _talking _about?"

Through all her regret, fright and sadness, all Jenna could see right now was red. Why was Bane playing the dumb card? Why was he being more cruel than necessary by acting like he didn't know what had happened, what he had forced her to do? Why did he have to torture her further?

"RODGER!" She shouted at him finally. "You fucking made me kill Rodger last night!"

Behind his mask, Bane's jaw had dropped slightly, and his eyebrows never ceased to move from their meeting spot in the middle of his face. He began to shake his head again. A part of him wanted to just leave and let Jenna be upset at whatever the hell she was talking about, but a more dominate part of him couldn't help but want to get to the bottom of this. He would be betraying himself by setting her straight, he would be going back on his word to stay true to his old ways, but he had never witnessed Jenna so shaken up. Not when he first took her, not before he attempted to kill her, and not when he killed her parents, right before her eyes.

"Rodger is alive, Jenna," Bane said now, upset with how low and smooth his voice had become. "We never went anywhere last night..."

Now, Jenna's eyebrows furrowed as her jaw dropped in pure disarray, and she slowly began to shake her head. "...what?"

"It sounds to me like you just had a dream," Bane went on now. "I never made you kill anyone."

_He's lying_, Jenna's mind told her. _He's lying to you. Of course he is. He wants you to suffer more, he wants to watch you have to relive this over and over again. _"You're lying," Jenna finally accused in a hushed tone.

"I am not," Bane argued. "It was a dream, Jenna. Like I said, nobody left the warehouse last night, especially not you. Not during your... solitude."

Jenna swallowed. "You invited me to go with you. Isaac was there, we-"

"_No_," Bane repeated, sterner this time. "For the final time, it was a dream, a nightmare, rather, for _you_. This is your final chance to leave your room before morning. I suggest you take it."

Bane grew frustrated when he had to force himself to turn around and leave the room. Jenna watched him head to his own room, and when he closed his door, she swallowed as she glanced away. _A dream_? She thought. _There's no way... it was so real... _It couldn't have been a dream. It was impossible. All the actions, the sights, the smells... they had been so _real, _so vivid. She could still feel how Rodger's warm blood had felt on her arm. There's no way her mind could have rendered up something so detailed and accurate. Her moment with Isaac in the sunset, _that _had been a dream. Thinking back, Jenna was one-hundred percent certain on that, but not Rodger's death. She didn't believe Bane.

She didn't want to move from her cot, although lying in it all day had caused her to screw up her back, neck, and arm, but she was thirsty, and did have to use the restroom. She forced herself out of the bed, but once she laid eyes on the sweat pants she wore, her feet bare, she grew confused all over again. When had she taken off her boots and changed her pants? _Probably when I washed the blood off..._ she thought sadly, although she could not even remember doing that, as well.

She moved slowly and absentmindedly through the basement and to the stairs, and at one point, she had to reach out and lean against the wall to keep herself from falling on the stairs. Her back hurt, her neck hurt, her arm throbbed, and her legs were shaky and weak. She felt lightheaded, the area around her spinning, and she knew at any moment, with just one, tiny, wrong thought, she would cripple down where she stood and burst into tears. Bane entering her room had not helped her in the least bit, and she wished he had just completely left her alone. On top of everything else, the last thing she wanted to be doing was thinking about _him _again.

As soon as she approached the bathroom door, the exit door was thrown open, and before she could stumble into the bathroom, a random, burly henchman was storming his way over to her and stepping in between her and the door to disappear inside the bathroom. He slammed the door shut in her face, but Jenna felt too sick to care. Instead, she stumbled back toward the counter, and she let her lower back hit it before she rested against it. She was wasting her time, but it wasn't like she cared anymore. She was too tired to care. She was too upset to care.

Suddenly, the exit door opened again, slower this time, and when Jenna glanced up, she watched Isaac make his way inside. A faint shock ran up her spine upon remembering how intimate her dream with him had been, but when a strong pang-like sensation overcame her heart, she was instantly reminded of what had happened to Rodger, and Bane's cruelty when he lied, claiming it was just a dream. Perhaps it made sense that Bane would strive to hurt her further, though at the same time, what if he _was _telling her the truth? Jenna knew the only way she could have truth and closure was to simply ask Isaac.

He kept his eyes focused on the floor as he started past her, Jenna watching him all the while, and as soon as he reached the ladder, she licked her lips before speaking his name.

"Isaac?" Her voice was low, gentle, and the tone it carried was unmistakably heavyhearted.

He continued to ignore her. He placed his hand on one of the bars on the ladder and pulled himself up, but as soon as his foot made contact with the bottom bar, Jenna spoke again.

"Isaac?"

He closed his eyes and sighed out of his nose. He wanted to answer her; unfortunately, he found himself wondering wildly why she sounded so upset. He understood that her month long solitude punishment was weighing her down, but he had never heard her sound so confused and upset, especially from speaking just one word. When she spoke his name, he could hear how desperate she was to talk to him. But Isaac had orders. Bane had specially told him to stop helping her, and he knew, in turn, this meant he could not talk to her. Every time he did talk to her, he always seemed to speak helpful words. He opened his eyes and started up the ladder.

"Isaac, please," Jenna went on now with a shaking voice as she stepped away from the counter to stand near the ladder, and she stared up at him. When he paused again, she went on. "Please. I just have _one_ question."

_Do _not _betray Bane's orders,_ Isaac reminded himself. _Leave her be...it's not important_. But despite his thoughts, the desire to turn and at least just _listen _to her question was holding him back from stepping onto the platform before his room, and when Jenna saw him hesitating, she knew this was her last chance.

"Isaac, seriously... please. Just-"

"What?" Isaac finally interrupted, glancing over his shoulder to look down at her, but once he had, a small shock ran up his spine when he saw how terrible she looked. Her eyes were red and heavy, her hair tangled and dirty, and her face was pale and weighed down with pure gloom. Jenna, to say the least, appeared to be the definition of a pure _wreck_.

"Did... did we...?" She paused, and Isaac's brow furrowed when Jenna glanced down to hide her face, but he had seen the tear that was sliding down her cheek now. She knew the answer she would receive. Isaac was a truthful man, and she knew he would give her the correct answer without any hesitation. After a second or so of quick preparation, Jenna struggled to compose herself, and with a sniffle she glanced back up to force the question from her mouth. "Did I kill Rodger?"

Isaac's lips parted. "What?" he asked again. "No..." he replied, truly thrown-off by her question. He watched Jenna nod before she glanced down again.

"That's what Bane said," she mumbled, feeling truly disoriented now. So i_t _was _just a dream? But... how...? _Jenna had said this more so to herself, but Isaac had heard, and he could not stop himself from speaking again as he shook his head.

"Why would you ask that?"

Jenna shook her head again. "I don't know," she replied slowly, sniffling again, and he watched her wipe away more tears with her hands before she glanced back up to him. "It was just a dream... I guess."

"Yeah, it was a dream, Jenna," Isaac replied. "You've been-" he stopped himself abruptly while he finished his sentence in his head: -_in your room for over a month now... _Had he verbally finished this thought, he knew this would have welcomed a conversation, and he could not afford to have one with her right now.

"A-are you sure?" Jenna couldn't help but to ask, her heavy eyes focused intently on his now.

"I'm sure," he replied. Jenna nodded, wishing she could keep talking to him, wishing that he would climb down the ladder and assure her further that it was just a dream, but it was clear to her now that Isaac was not permitted to have any contact with her. She was not only putting herself in danger, but she was putting Isaac's life in danger, as well, and without another word she turned around to step back up to the bathroom door.

Isaac remained still on the ladder, his mind running at a hundred miles a minute. He wanted to know why a dream would have her so confused, and he had to wonder why she appeared to have a hard time believing Bane when he apparently told her it had just been a dream, as well. His thoughts were interrupted, however, when Bane suddenly appeared near the corner of the hallway, his eyes fixed intently on Jenna, until he suddenly turned to glance up at Isaac. It was clear that he knew that they had been talking, but before Bane could say anything to anyone, Isaac nodded at him before he quickly turned and continued up to his room. As soon as he closed the door, Bane glanced back down to Jenna, who was now leaning against the counter with her left arm wrapped around her torso, just under her cast and sling.

"Your five minutes are up," Bane informed, his words causing Jenna to glance up at him. "Go back downstairs."

Jenna's lips parted. "I didn't even get to go to the bathroom yet," she complained lightly. "Can I just-"

"That's not my problem. Go back to your room," he commanded. He stared at Jenna, watching her struggle to hold herself back from saying what she really wanted to at that moment. But after a few seconds or so of her mouth opening and closing, she finally sighed and stormed toward the stairs, cursing at not only Bane, but also at the bastard who had cut in front of her to get into the bathroom before her and her burning bladder. _Why is Bane such a fucking... heartless... fucking- UGH! _Jenna couldn't even bring herself to think of suiting names for the giant at that moment. _You try being stuck in a fucking room for a month, _she thought sourly. _Then you'll know what I'm going through..._

When she returned to her room she couldn't help but to slam her door shut, and as she turned to face her cot, she worried for a split second that would cause Bane to come downstairs and barge into her room, but as soon as this thought occurred, Jenna was already leaving it behind. Like the time Bane had come into her room five minutes ago, these sudden, furious feelings were outweighing her feelings of confusion and depression, and admittedly it was welcoming. For now, she would allow herself to be angry.

She turned and fell down into her cot, flinching at the pain that erupted in her arm, but the pain only fueled her anger and distracted her from what apparently had just been a dream. This pain and distraction was welcoming, as well. When the pain died down, she placed her pillow against the wall behind her and leaned against it, sighing angrily from her nose as she turned her attention to her left side. Bane was being so unfair; he was taking this whole punishment thing way too far. But aside from that, Jenna didn't know what to believe about Rodger. Was he dead? Had she killed him? Or had it all really been some sort of sick, twisted dream? Her encounter with Isaac in the sunset was clearly a dream, but Jenna had never experienced having a dream within a dream. Was that even possible?

Bane told her it was a dream, and Isaac had told her it was a dream. It made sense that Bane would lie to torment her further, but Isaac? What reason did he have to lie to her? He had never lied to her, so why would he start now? _It must have been_, Jenna thought to herself. If Isaac told her it had been a dream, then she figured that was all that had to be said.

But still, upon thinking back to the terrible images the nightmare had portrayed, Jenna couldn't help but to feel sick again. She brought her knees up to her chest, that depressed feeling washing over her again for no good reason. So it had been a dream; why remain so upset? _Because there's every possibility it could turn real,_ Jenna answered. She hoped it wouldn't. She hoped her words to Bane had not inspired him to want to turn her dream into a terrible reality.

She moved her eyes down from the wall and onto her chair night stand, and her sad thoughts were put on hold when she rested her eyes on the knife Isaac had given her her first night there. A shock ran up her spine –she had used a knife in her dream– but the aftermath of the shock faded quickly, and instead Jenna was instantly reminded of her first night at the warehouse. She reached out to take the knife in her hand, and as soon as she snapped it open, memories of that night came flooding back to her.

_"Rumor is you don't scream,"_ the man who had sneaked into her room had said, his grip on her arm tight as Jenna struggled against him, positive she was going to die at that very moment, though, at that time, her will to live was still strong, and she wouldn't be going down without a fight. _"That's good,"_ he had gone on. _"That means there's nothing stopping me from doing_ this._" _

Jenna remembered Isaac coming into the room after she had struggled against him, stopping the man, and giving her the knife.

_"Your tough girl act is just that, you know. An_ act_."_ He had told her. _"_Acting _tough around here won't save your life, but _being _tough will."_

Jenna remembered what she said after: _"I'm not 'acting' tough. I'm stuck in this stupid room without any sort of protection. That fucker just randomly came in here! What was I supposed to do?"  
_

_ "You make use of what you have," _Isaac had replied, and that was when he tossed her the knife. That had been Isaac, a complete stranger, who was in no way obliged to help her out, actually _helping _her out, due to pure kindness. And that had been the first time among many. Granted, Jenna had never used the knife, but now that she remembered it, it gave her a small sense of comfort, and a stronger appreciation for Isaac that she wished she could prove to him. That very night, Jenna had been so determined to live, so ready to fight against anyone who tried to hurt her, and now, this particular knife symbolized that. Jenna closed the knife, and keeping it clutched in her left hand, she moved down in the cot, bringing her pillow with her, and once she was lying down, she covered herself with the blanket and closed her eyes.

_"Why are you doing this?"_ She had curiously asked him, truly desperate to know why he would help her out on such a strong level. But his answer came in the form of an all-knowing grin, and without a word, he had stepped out of that very room and closed the door behind him. That very moment began the developing stages of their friendship and the strong pull between them. Perhaps there was a reason why Isaac had helped her out that night. _Fate_, Jenna thought. _Fate..._

* * *

**I know this is a TERRIBLE chapter to end on this note with, but it may be a short little while before I can update again. You all know the shit-ass excuse: college. (BOOO!)  
HOWEVER, leave me some good reviews, guys. What do you think will happen next? What do you HOPE will happen next? What parts did you love? Hate? After you review, add me on Facebook so you can continue to indulge in Bane, Isaac and Jenna (Lacey ClownQween Michele) As always, thanks for reading, and I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the chapter :) _  
_**

**A big thanks to my beta as well! __**** Loretta Lolita ****you are a miracle! **  



	19. A Hesitant Freedom

For the following week, Jenna began to entertain ideas centered around Isaac, and all of the ways he could have been, and continued to help her through her time of isolation. She knew it was safe to assume one-hundred percent now that Isaac had not been allowed to have any sort of contact with her. Not only had her theory proved itself when Isaac had struggled to ignore her, or how he had so obviously been holding himself back from conversing with her too much when she finally _did_ get through to him, but when Bane had appeared upstairs, Isaac had been quick to retreat to his room. _What a stupid rule_, Jenna thought. And of course it had to happen just when they had gotten on a better track.

Isaac had been the only one to have ever helped her. He had even helped her when he was instructed not to, by assuring her that she had not killed Rodger. Whether Jenna believed the validity of his words or not, Isaac had still _helped _her. Now, Isaac was her light in the dark tunnel again. Now, Isaac was the only good in Jenna's life, even if she couldn't converse with him like before. But Jenna had become so accustomed to just _thinking_, and since she couldn't talk to him, she would think about him.

In the beginning, Jenna imagined Bane's rule to have never occurred. Granted her punishment would not have made sense, but in Jenna's mind, she was free to abandon any logic if she wanted to. She would still have been allowed to talk to him; perhaps she could have still gone outside for cigarettes with him, or used his shower to avoid using the bathroom on the main level. She would have openly let him check her arm, and this time around, she would wholeheartedly listen to his advice, and she now had the strong desire to take it. But what would advice would he give her when she expressed her troubling concerns?

"Just listen to Bane," he would tell her. "Be glad you get to at least come outside still. It could be worse, right?" Here, he would grin, and a small laugh would escape past him, which in turn would cause Jenna to smile and laugh slightly as well. If this was her past reality, Jenna would realize that eventually he was right. Although they would both have no idea how truly terrible it actually could be. Being isolated for so long, being haunted by vivid nightmares and dealing with confusing dreams was proving to wear Jenna out more than any physical activity ever could. But if this scenario was a reality, and occurring at a better time, Jenna knew she more than likely would have argued with Isaac on that, claiming _there's no way it could worse than this. _Jenna rolled her eyes at her mind-rendered self. No wonder Isaac had tried to end their friendship, and was hesitant about starting it up again. Now, Jenna understood what he meant. She wouldn't want to be her friend either.

She left behind her freshly angered ways, letting them die down before she continued on with her fantasies. In her mind, she would display herself as the person she was ready to be right _now_: open to advice and help, and ready to appreciate it, not take advantage of it. In this world, she would be clean. In this world, she wouldn't be so socially deprived. In this word, her nightmares wouldn't seem so bad, and in this world, her life would be a little more manageable. Jenna believed Bane didn't realize the severity of what he had done, by breaking apart her and Isaac. Nobody had ever helped her the way he had. Ever. Not even Rodger.

Her mind wanted to scold her for all the ways she had wronged Isaac, but she would not allow the thoughts to come through. She was sick of feeling depressed and furious; now, she wanted to feel happy or content, and if not happy, then she wanted to feel nothing at all.

By the end of that week, Jenna began to think of ways Isaac could have helped her even with his command to stay out of contact with her. Granted, he would be going behind Bane's back – something Jenna knew he would never do, no matter what– it was something exhilarating to think about. Whenever she went upstairs during her five minutes, if Bane wasn't around, perhaps they could have had a quick exchange of words, no matter what the topic was. It would cause Jenna to smile, to feel something other than any sort of pain, and ultimately it would help her. Maybe, if she could be so lucky, she would sneak over to the exit door, and lean out of it for a quick drag from Isaac's cigarette. She pictured how that first instance would go.

She'd double check Bane was still locked away in his room after kicking her door, and she would venture to the exit door, striving to just catch a glimpse of any sort of new scenery, and breathe in some fresh air. She was would be startled to see Isaac standing below the railing of the stairs, and when she would open the door, he would turn, a cigarette dangling between his lips, and his eyebrows would raise immediately.

"Jenna!" He'd scold quietly. "Are you fucking crazy? Get inside!"

Jenna would grin. "Give me a quick drag," she would say. "Please?" She's push on when he would openly hesitate. But no matter her predicament or the rules, Isaac would quickly go up the stairs, taking two at a time, and he'd hand her the cigarette. Jenna would reach out with her left hand, holding the door open with her foot, and she imaged how relieving that first drag would be. She would close her eyes and take the longest hit she had ever taken from a cigarette, Isaac's eyes on her all the while. Finally, she would open her eyes, and smile at Isaac as she exhaled the thin stream of smoke. She'd hand him back his cigarette.

"Thank you," she would say, and she would mean it sincerely. Without another word she would disappear back inside, and she knew she and Isaac both would now be safe from Bane's wrath.

Eventually, Isaac would always start smoking near the exit door, waiting for Jenna to ease it open. If she could be so lucky, again, sometimes she'd have enough time to get two drags in before forcing herself away from the door to enjoy her final three minutes of very shallow freedom...

This was unrealistic. There was no way she could ever keep that a secret, and she knew Isaac wouldn't allow for that either. He was protecting his own life, he was staying loyal, and Jenna knew he was helping her, in turn, by following Bane's orders. But perhaps Jenna could have still enjoyed her cigarettes...

Late, late at a night, when all of the other henchmen were sleeping or busy, and Bane was locked in his room and prepared to stay in there until morning, maybe Isaac would sneak down the stairs, into the basement and up to her door. Jenna would be awake with her light on, just thinking, when suddenly she'd hear some sort of shuffling around on the floor outside of her door. She'd turn her attention to it, and she'd watch with widened, confused eyes as a single cigarette would roll underneath the door into her room. A pang of excitement would go through her as she'd quickly rise to retrieve it.

Jenna smiled. This fantasy seemed more realistic. But why stop there? Perhaps, upon picking the cigarette up, the hunger for it nearly unbearable now, she would discovered a small piece of paper had been rolled and taped around it. She'd carefully undue the tape and open the paper, upon which there would be a message.

_"Hopefully you still have a lighter." _It would say. _"Enjoy, Isaac." _The bottom would be signed. A grin would reach Jenna's lips, and she'd fold back up the paper and save it. Then she'd enjoy her cigarette on her cot, taking her time with smoking and appreciating each inhale and exhale.

This would continue every night, and each cigarette would always have a message. At first they would be simple, then some of them would be more whimsical, perhaps with stupid jokes written on them. Eventually, they'd be longer, and in efforts to help her, Isaac would leave her short and shallow descriptions of his day, just so Jenna could live vicariously through them and take herself to a different place in her mind. This would work. This simple action of rolling single cigarettes under the door would help Jenna more than anyone would ever know.

Thinking about it further, this, of course, was unrealistic as well. Sooner than later, Bane would smell the stench of smoke from her room, and he'd discover that Jenna had been smoking. He'd barge into her room and find the notes she had been hoarding. He'd grow furious, and storm up the stairs to find Isaac, and from there he would kill–

Jenna's thoughts were instantly interrupted when a loud kick sounded on her door. She jumped from where she sat in her cot, her head turning quickly toward the door, and with a racing heart she released a breath. The kick was more welcoming than usual, for she was glad she had not finished her previous thought.

Now, these fantasies brought on more harm than they did good. Jenna would get so wound up in them to the point that she'd forget the severity of her condition. Then, when forced to face reality, it would seem ten times worse than the last time the realization occurred. Sighing sadly, Jenna rose from her cot, flinching at the shot of pain that erupted from her sore back, due to too many sleepless nights on her cot, and stumbled over to her door. She felt truly disgusting. Her hair was a greasy, tangled mess, her skin dry, her lips chapped, and she had no clean clothes left at this point. Jenna was a true prisoner.

She lazily reached out to open her door, wondering what time it was, and as soon as she opened it she began to shuffle out of her room. Her eyes were focused on the floor, and she had been so consumed in sleepily watching the floor pass underneath her that she failed to notice she was heading directly toward Bane, and by the time she realized it, it was too late. Her right shoulder and arm collided hard into his rock-solid body, and she hissed and flinched in pain as she stumbled back, her left hand flying to her right arm to attempt to sooth it.

Bane had been standing in the middle of the basement, just watching her. At first he had the intentions of venturing upstairs to go find Isaac outside, but he had become consumed with watching Jenna. She walked so slow, and was completely unaware of anything around her, more so than usual. She had been heading directly toward him, but Bane didn't step out of her way. He wanted to see if she would finally notice him in her path, or if she would hit him. He knew if she was to run into him, it would only damage her right side, but Bane remained stationary, truly curious. When Jenna did run into him, Bane watched her crumble slightly in pain before he decided now was a good time to speak up.

He opened his mouth to talk, but no words ever reached his mouth, and finally he realized he had no idea what to say. Sure, he could scold her for her lack of awareness, but what good would that do? Considering her condition right now, Jenna probably wouldn't even hear him, let alone realize he was even talking. He could just ignore her, reminding her she had five minutes, but unfortunately, Bane didn't want to do this either.

Now, as he watched her, Jenna was finally opening her eyes, her reddened, aqua orbs staring at her right arm, and she ran her fingers over the cast, checking for damages. Her greasy hair was thrown in her face, and Bane remembered a time when Jenna couldn't stand to have her bangs anywhere near her eyes. Now that were longer, it was bewildering to him that Jenna didn't immediately move to push them furiously away. Now, when she finally glanced up, she kept them in her face.

"Sorry," she mumbled to him. Bane hadn't moved since the impact; he remained standing with his feet shoulder width apart with his arms crossed over his chest, and as Jenna slowly began past him, nearly hitting him _again_, he turned his head to watch her advance slowly toward the stairs.

"Jenna..." he suddenly spoke her name, and as soon as the word left his mouth, the basement seemed to get even quieter than it was before. The dripping noise seemed to even quiet down.

A strong shock had run up Jenna's spine upon Bane speaking her name. But it wasn't that he had spoken to her that had her so shaken up suddenly, but rather the tone in his voice. It sounded so... _concerned? No, _Jenna instantly decided. _No way. _She turned around to face him.

Not a day had gone by during the entirety of Jenna's punishment that Bane didn't wonder what she was doing in that room, what she was thinking, and what she was desiring most. Despite what he had decided, despite what he had wanted, each night he laid awake in his bed, wondering how badly Jenna was suffering. At first he had grinned at these thoughts, and enjoyed them, but for the past couple of weeks the thoughts became consuming to the point of making him want to actually rise from bed, and allow her out of her room just once in the middle of the night. It was wrong, it was disgusting, but it was desirable. Regardless, Bane forced himself to stay put, reminding himself he'd let Jenna out in the morning. _Let Jenna out_, he thought. _Like a dog_? Jenna was better than a dog. Even after what she had done to betray him...

Now, Bane was struggling to find the words to say. _What were you doing? What have you been doing? How are you? Have you learned your lesson? Have you learned anything? _Suddenly, Bane didn't want to ask any of this. Was this it? Was this finally the end of her punishment? Was Bane seriously prepared already to tell her she was now free to venture out of her room, whenever and for however long? Had this proven to have even strengthened her in any way?

"What would you do if I told you your punishment... was... over?" Bane questioned slowly, watching her intently. Her eyebrows raised slightly as her lips parted, but as soon as her face had begun to light up, it was instantly weighed back down, complete with hallow eyes and a permanent frown.

"I-I don't know," Jenna replied. "Is it?" She then asked, no hint of hope ever touching her voice. _He's lying... you're dreaming... _she thought sadly. Bane's eyes wandered down slowly, and he watched the fingers on her left hand toy around with the fingers on her right nervously for a moment before he raised his eyes back up. Her face was matted, and he noticed no new type of hopeful light had ever come across any of her features.

_Tell her no_, his mind constructed. _Tell her it's not over, then tell her her five minutes are now up. Watch her crumble, and watch her suffer more..._

_ No_, Bane argued. _She doesn't even believe you. Look at her. She's already _waiting _for you to take it back. No hope has been instilled in her. No hope has ever even touched her this entire time..._

"I suppose," he finally answered slowly, glancing down again to watch Jenna cease movement of her fingers. "You are free to do whatever... just, stay at the warehouse." This sounded more like a suggestion than it did a command, and Bane couldn't help but to suck in a sharp breath of annoyance at this.

A strong, tingling sensation had washed over Jenna as she went lightheaded, and as the room spun, she wondered if she had heard him correctly. Her lips had parted, her heavy eyes had widened, and she remained blankly staring at him as she tried to let the feeling of freedom sink in. But no matter how long she waited, realization never overcame her. She felt too numb. "It's... i-it's over?" She had to clarify quietly.

Bane nodded once. "I suppose you've had enough time now to realize the severity of what you had done. The next time you lie, Jenna-"

"I won't," Jenna immediately interrupted in a mumble. _He's not kidding_, she thought. But still, realization would not sink in. She had spent too much time stuck in that room for far too long. Now, it was something she had grown use to. Having nowhere to physically go, and escaping only by where her mind took her had caused her to become desensitized to everything around her. Would she ever get used to being outside of her room again? Was she allowed to converse with Isaac now?

"For your sake, I hope you are right," Bane replied. "Solitude and isolation is... a hard thing to overcome..."

He sounded so thoughtful, and for a moment Jenna had to wonder what he meant, or what he was referring to. A small desire to ask him what he meant came over her, but Jenna didn't want to stand there and talk to him. Why should she, after what he had done? Now, she would avoid him on her own terms. However, there was just one more question she wanted to ask him.

"What... month is it?"

"December," Bane replied, struck slightly by her toneless voice. "The fifteenth," he added. Suddenly, Jenna found it hard to swallow. _December_? She had been locked away in that room for the entire month of November? _Unbelievable. _But it made sense.

Bane remained staring at her, hundreds of thoughts buzzing around in his head like bothersome wasps, but he forced himself to head toward his room, deciding that keeping the thoughts and words he wanted to speak in his head would prove to be a smarter choice than speaking them out loud. Jenna watched him go for a moment, and once his door closed she slowly turned around to face the stairs.

_I'm free? _She thought to herself as she slowly shuffled her feet across the cold floor toward the stairs. She couldn't believe or accept it. She was positive she was dreaming again. This was a fantasy gone too far, and at any moment she would wake with a start to find that this was not reality. As she started up the stairs, she wondered vaguely where Isaac was. He would set her straight, he would assure her this was, in fact, not a dream.

But suddenly, all Jenna began to desire was a shower. But she couldn't even have this. Bane may have freed her from her room, but he did not free her from her broken body. Her arm was a burden, keeping her from even the most simplest of tasks that she was desiring now. She couldn't take a refreshing, hot shower, where she could take her time with washing her hair and body. No. She had to find a way to lean over the tub, and wash her hair without the help of a detachable shower head.

Once she reached the top of the stairs, she considered climbing the ladder to Isaac's room to use his shower again, but she quickly decided against this. Bane had merely freed her from her room. He had not fixed her broken arm, and he had not granted Isaac permission to speak to her again. He claimed that her punishment was over, but was it really?

_Whatever_, she thought dully to herself as she gently pushed open the bathroom door. Her arm may be broken, she may be forced to deal with isolation from Isaac, but at least she could spend her lonely hours somewhere other than her room.

–

Attempting to wash her hair had been close to a near disaster, but after an hour or so in the bathroom, Jenna had managed to wash and rinse her hair. Using a wet towel, she wiped down her body as well, cringing as she was forced to deal with the embarrassingly long stubble of hair that covered her body. After wrapping her body in a new towel, she collected her wet towel and arm sling and started out of the bathroom. So desperate to be out of her room, Jenna wished she could change somewhere else, but upon stepping into her room, she didn't feel as empty as she once had. Now, she was free to leave her room, whenever she desired. This sounded nice, but she still couldn't bring herself to feel the relieved feelings she should.

All of her clothes were dirty, and this alone made her want to cry. But, despite her passivity, Jenna was determined suddenly. _No more crying_, she told herself. She had seen how awful her face had looked in the bathroom mirror and all the times she had taken a glance at herself through the mirror shard in her room. After the second week, she had made a point to never look at herself in the mirror during her punishment, but now that it was over, she had allowed herself to, only to immediately wish she hadn't. Her face was pale and bare, and the red that outlined her eyes made her look like some sort of zombie. Perhaps she was a zombie. She felt like one.

After finding a pair of gray sweat pants which she deemed clean enough, and a black t-shirt that smelt fine, she took her time getting dressed before she turned to grab her sling from the bed. With one hand, she struggled to untangle it, but once she had finished, she paused, realizing she had no idea how she was going to put it on. She sat there for a moment, frowning, but after a moment had passed, she wondered if she could go find Isaac. She stood up slowly, but paused immediately when she realized if Bane was to catch him helping her, he'd probably punish her all over again. Jenna groaned to herself. She had no choice but to ask Bane if she could seek him out...

After putting on her boots in hopes that Bane would grant her permission, Jenna inched her way out of her room and across the basement to Bane's closed door. She paused in front of it, openly hesitating. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to look at him, or hear him any more than she needed to. But she knew getting his permission for this was inevitable. She had to speak him. _Just this once,_ she thought. She lifted her hand to knock on his door, but she jumped when she suddenly heard somebody coming down the stairs.

She turned to glance over her shoulder, and she watched Bane take a step off the last stair before he started over, his eyes focused on her. He had seen that she had been about to knock on his door, and while he found her monotone demeanor slightly confusing, he couldn't help but to wonder what she was doing knocking on his door already.

"What do you need?" He asked, just a few feet from her now. Jenna swallowed as she glanced up to him, feeling dizzy. Just the sight of him and the sound of his haunting voice brought back all types of memories she didn't want. She glanced down suddenly to look away from him. She already knew what he looked like, yet she refused to take in his more particular details that were already too familiar to her. But she _had _to ask him just this one question.

"Can I- um..." she paused, bowing her head down further once he had approached her. "...go find Isaac?"

Bane's eyes wandered over her body and the sling in her arm before he raised them back to her lowered face. "Why?"

"I need help with... this." She lifted the sling in her left arm slightly as she absentmindedly glanced up to look at him. Bane was staring at the sling in her arm, and just as she began to anticipate his terrible answer, he stepped closer to her to grab the sling from her hand. She couldn't help but to flinch slightly, and upon noticing, Bane had paused as well, staring at her. After a few seconds of staring at her, he finally stepped closed to her, ready to assist with putting the sling around her, but Jenna had taken a step back closer to his door. Bane blinked slowly, his eyes focused on her own, which were now staring at the floor, and he let out a sigh.

"Do you want help or not?" He asked her. For the first time, Bane found his low patience level slightly frustrating. Granted Jenna stepping away from him had annoyed him greatly, he found himself wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt. This, too, was a disgustingly wrong desire, but it was a feeling Bane could not escape. _Just look at her_, he thought. _Bruised, broken, numb, scared... all because of you. You've found a way to even terrify her in a dream. Before, she was never this frightened by you... ever. _

Jenna finally glanced over to him after he had spoken. Her eyes dropped down the sling in his large hand before she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. He was staring at her, but not in the way she had been picturing. She anticipated his glare to be angry and heavy, like it had been for a while now, but rather his eyes were soft, and the light gray color of them was evident. His breathing was slow and calm, and he appeared patient as he waited for her to speak, although on the inside he was fighting himself from demanding a quicker answer from her.

It was clear to Jenna by his actions of preparing to help her himself that he didn't want her to go find Isaac. This thought caused her aching stomach to drop to her feet and her face to flush slightly. But finally, after a moment or so of staring at him, she slowly nodded her head, even though accepting any sort of help from Bane at this point seemed terribly wrong. But, Jenna had to wonder, why was he even helping her in the first place? Wouldn't it have made sense for him to have told her no before sending her on her way to deal with her problem herself? _That does it,_ Jenna thought. _This is a dream. _

When Bane stepped closer to her to start putting the sling around her, Jenna had ceased breathing as she stood, motionless, in front of him, still wondering desperately, regardless if this was a dream of not, why Bane was helping her. It made absolutely _no _sense.

His hands against her had once felt so good, but now they seemed even rougher, and more unwelcoming as his fingers brushed against her arm as he placed the cast into the sling. The feel of his calloused skin against hers made her stomach ache even more, and she felt dizzy upon remembering there had once been a time when she had craved the feeling of his skin against hers. _Disgusting, _she thought.

What occurred in a matter of ten seconds felt as though it had taken hours, and by the time he was finished, Jenna still found herself unable to breathe. Swallowing, she took another small step back from him.

Bane could see how uneasy she had become, even more so than she had been prior to his assistance, but he would be staying true to Isaac's command. Bane had told him to stop helping Jenna, and he meant it. This rule still occurred now, though logically, he couldn't come up with a reason why this was beneficial anymore. _Look at you, turning your back on your decision to be hard with her. Redeem yourself, even in the slightest way, by keeping your word on this order._

"You've received your help," Bane said finally, breaking the silence. "But you are to leave Barsad be."

A lump had risen in Jenna's throat upon Bane confirming her thoughts, and she glanced down as she struggled to swallow it back.

"Okay," she replied, her voice cracking, and she closed her eyes tightly at this. Did Bane realize Jenna might as well still be stuck inside her room? Sure, she could leave now, but what good was it? She didn't want any contact with Bane, she wasn't allowed to speak to Isaac, she couldn't leave the warehouse, and on top of that, her broken arm made nearly everything else impossible to do. A fresh, sudden urge to speak her mind to Bane had overcome her, and the feeling was like a slap in the face. Jenna hadn't felt any strong desire in a while. _What's the fucking point of being allowed out of my room?! _She would wonder furiously out loud to him. _I want nothing to do with you, I can't talk to Isaac... I can't go _anywhere! _I'm not free. I'm more imprisoned than _ever.

Jenna knew exactly what his reply would be: _"Your time is up then. Return back to your room, and we'll start this over."_

Jenna closed her eyes, a pang running through her heart, it seeming as though Bane had actually just said this to her. Despite all this, she still didn't want to be locked in her room. She hated the way things were currently, and although she couldn't bring herself to feel it physically, she knew she should just be thankful she was free from that room.

Bane had been watching her, taking notice of the way she had glanced down to hide her face when he told her she was to remain leaving Barsad alone, and he could tell by the way her eyes closed and her lips thinning that she was contemplating on saying something. But shockingly, she never said a word, and this caused Bane to furrow his eyebrows. He waited, anticipating for her to speak what was on her mind, but when she finally turned around to start over toward the stairs without a word still, Bane found himself having a difficult time accepting this. That was very unlike Jenna. Whatever had been on her mind had been a sour thought, he knew, and Jenna was not the type to hold herself back from expressing what was on her mind, be it on purpose or accident. Bane glanced over his shoulder slightly to watch her retreat from him from the corner of his eye, and once she started up the stairs, he realized finally Jenna was not going to verbally express what had been on her mind. Also, he noticed that she appeared to be in some sort of physical pain, due to the ways she moved up the stairs slowly with her back hunched forward.

Once she disappeared out view, Bane turned before absentmindedly taking slow steps toward the stairs, blankly wondering where she was going. Dwelling in the shadows of the basement, he watched her slowly pull open the exit door before stepping outside without so much as a glance anywhere else inside. Even after the door had closed, his eyes remained stationary in the area around the door.

Something was deeply wrong with Jenna, he knew. He had been expecting this after his punishment, but honestly not to this degree. Jenna had such a strong, indecisive personality before. Now, she just was not herself. But what was even more concerning was why did Bane _care? _

It was snowing outside. A thick layer of snow blanketed the entire ground while more large flakes fell from the light clouds that covered the night sky, but Jenna didn't take anytime to notice her surroundings. Instead, she had mindlessly wandered down the stairs and started toward the garage area of the warehouse, where the two large doors were open, the lights on inside, and only after she had reached the garage did she realize where she had wandered to. She stopped in her tracks and finally glanced up into the empty garage, and after a moment of staring at the Challenger parked inside, she stepped toward the wall by the garage before turning to sit down on the ground, in the snow. The ground was freezing, colder than the basement floor, and thousands of hard, tiny goosebumps covered her bare arms as her body began to shake, her wet hair freezing over her face and neck. But finally a small glimmer of appreciation overcame her. She was _outside. _She hadn't been outside in over a _month_. The air was fresh, the area around her vast and open, and although she was sitting in the snow without a coat, this new level of cold was welcoming. As Jenna's eyes wandered from left to right, she felt dizzy upon realizing on a stronger level that she was actually sitting outside.

Isaac had been making his way through the warehouse, past all the empty shelves where boxes of light bulbs had once sat, ready to unload boxes of ammo from his truck, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Jenna sitting directly by the garage, her back and head resting against the wall, her knees brought up to her chest with her bare, left arm wrapped around them. His eyebrows lifted as his lips parted slightly, but as soon as shock had washed over him, it dissipated quickly and left him feeling disturbed. Perhaps it was the lighting and the angle, but from where he stood, his eyes focused on her, he was overcome entirely by her face. Her face was sickly pale, her parted lips chapped, and her eyes so red, it appeared as though she had just finished applying red eyeliner makeup. Her emotionless eyes were focused on the area in front of her, and although her body was shivering violently, she remained still in her spot. Even when a small, freezing gust of wind blew past, Jenna still did not move.

Isaac had to have been standing there for a long, solid two minutes before Jenna _finally _noticed him. Her mind had simply wandered away and became completely empty as she shook, leaving Jenna in a trance-like state as she stared ahead. She had not heard anybody approaching, and she had not noticed the shadow that flooded the ground in her line of sights. Only after a stronger gust of wind had blown her hair into her mouth did she notice Isaac from the corner of her eye when she removed the strand. She jumped slightly, but the startling feeling went away quickly. However, seeing Isaac standing there, staring at her with that odd look on his face, made her feel a slight hurt inside. What had she been thinking, coming to sit down right by the garage where she knew Isaac would be? Then again, Jenna didn't know what she had been thinking. She hadn't been thinking at all... _When did I even get here? _She wondered. _Where's my coat?_

The red surrounding her eyes was even more severe as she she faced him fully. Isaac stared into her eyes for a few seconds longer before he finally turned to start over to his truck, parked about twenty feet from where Jenna sat. Jenna's jaw dropped slightly, her body preparing her to speak, but what could she say? Isaac wasn't allowed to talk to her, and in turn she wasn't allowed to speak to him. Bane had told Jenna to leave Isaac alone. Would she get in trouble if Bane was to see that she was sitting in the area he was currently working in?

Isaac could feel Jenna's eyes on him as he opened the passenger side door to start grabbing the boxes of ammo from the seat and floor. Once he had an arm full, he turned to start toward the warehouse, and he couldn't help but to steal a glance at her, confirming silently that she was, in fact, still watching him. After he placed the boxes on the workbench and turned to head back to his truck, however, he saw that she had turned away, and was staring absentmindedly in front of her again. A strong frown had found Isaac's lips as he remained stationary, his tired eyes focused intently on her. Bane had told him not to help her. Knowing Bane, he had meant help in _any _way. But Jenna looked so miserable, sitting by the warehouse, shaking, her mind clearly blank and confused. It was as if she was a ghost of her former self, here to revisit her old spot when she would smoke and look for comfort. Despite how Jenna was in the past, and despite her disloyalty when she lied to Bane, Isaac couldn't help but to feel sorry for her.

_You can't help her_, he reminded himself as he turned away. _Leave her alone. It's not your problem, it's not your business... _But still. It was that fateful pull that existed between them that was bringing about the desire to help her. _Betrayal,_ he thought suddenly. Going against Bane's orders was a form of betrayal, and Isaac had _never _betrayed Bane. Ever. But when Isaac glanced over at Jenna again, unable to help himself, the desire to help had doubled, and he knew unless he did something about it, it would not go away.

He turned to his truck and grabbed his pack of smokes that contained five, last cigarettes inside. After he grabbed his lighter, he placed the box and lighter in the right pocket of his coat before he unzipped it. He shrugged it off his shoulders and removed his arms from the sleeves before he started over to Jenna, and when she heard his footsteps approaching her, she slowly turned her head to glance up at him. She watched him stop by her, his black coat in his hand, the same one he had given her before, and her eyebrows furrowed when Isaac gently dropped the coat onto her lap. He raised his eyes to look into hers for a mere second before he turned to start back over to his truck.

Jenna's heart had begun to race faster than it had in a while, and upon glancing down, the first thing she saw was a box of cigarettes sticking out from the pocket. Her eyes widened slightly as she was overcome with intense hunger for one, and when she pulled out the box and opened it, she felt lightheaded when she saw five inside. Her lips parting, she turned to look over in Isaac's direction, but he was making a point to ignore her as he started toward the inside of the garage again with an arm full of bullet boxes. Even with Bane's command, he was _still _helping her. Sure, all he had given her was some cigarettes and a coat, but what he had really bestowed her with was warmth, and a way to satisfy the craving that was near ready to kill her. He had done more for her in a mere couple of seconds than anyone had ever done for her in a lifetime.

Jenna's arms and hands were completely numb now, but even as she shook and shivered openly she moved to get a cigarette out of the box first. She stuck it in between her lips, and after struggling to light the lighter for a minute or two, once the end of the cigarette was lit, she took a slow, steady drag, like she imaged she would have in her head. Only this was better than her dreams. This was more satisfying than she could have ever imagined. As she exhaled, watching the thin stream of smoke escape her lips, she leaned forward, and keeping the cigarette in her mouth, she moved to put on Isaac's coat. The left sleeve and the inside of the coat were still warm, and as Jenna leaned back against the wall, she hugged her left arm around herself, enclosing herself in the coat, and as she took another drag she closed her eyes.

After spending a solid half hour in the snow, and after slowly smoking another cigarette after her first, Jenna finally moved to stand up. In the midst of her second cigarette, Isaac had disappeared inside the warehouse, going through the garage to get into the main area of the building, and a different thug had closed the garage doors, leaving Jenna alone in the dark. But this didn't give her any desires to get up and leave. Truth be told, she felt rather comfortable sitting on the hard ground, amongst the cold snow, and in Isaac's warm coat. Going back inside simply meant sitting in her room again. At least the surroundings were different outside.

But eventually, her overall numbness could not stop the cold from getting to her. Her legs were nearly frozen to death, her lips ceased to stop trembling as she shivered, and her left hand had started to throb in pain from being directly out amongst the cold. After she smoked her second cigarette completely down to the filter, Jenna finally stood up and began to slowly wander toward the exit door. The inside felt rather and warm and welcoming when she stepped inside, but all Jenna could focus on was dreading returning to her room. She paused once she began to head to the stairs, however, realizing finally she was still wearing Isaac's coat. Figuring she should return it, she began to take it off as she turned around to head over to Isaac's ladder. An image of Bane flashed her in mind, but she was not only returning the coat in fear of Bane's rage, but also as a way to prove to Isaac she would no longer take advantage of his help, no matter how big or small. Because she could not verbally express her gratitude, by returning his coat, she felt as though this was a sure, symbolic way of telling him 'thank you'. She kept the cigarettes and lighter in the coat's pocket, and after she had hung it on the ladder, she turned to start into the cold basement.

Her frigid, empty room only brought back unwanted feelings and memories, although it was different this time around. Now, she wasn't being forced to stay in her room; she could leave whenever she wanted, and go nearly anywhere she wanted within the warehouse. Though at the same time, Jenna realized as she climbed into her cot, she could not go where she desired. Back then, she desired spending time in Bane's room, but things were much, much different now, and all Jenna wanted to was to avoid him. Now, she just wanted to hang out with Isaac, but she knew this couldn't become a reality. Where else did she have to go beside her room? There was really no point in going outside; she had no cigarettes. She wasn't about to go venture anywhere else within the warehouse and deal with Bane's hateful men. She couldn't go to Isaac's room, and she didn't want to be around Bane. All that left was her room...

Jenna sighed sadly as she rested her head on the pillow, her back already beginning hurt as she laid on it. She desired turning to lay on her right side, but this position would only prove to hurt her arm. Frowning, she closed her eyes, simply hoping she'd find a way to fall asleep.

–

Ever since his encounter with her in the basement when he assisted her with the sling, Bane could not get Jenna off of his mind, no matter how agonizingly hard he tried. After she had retreated away from him to head outside into the snow –without a coat, he had noticed– his mind would not stop replaying the scene over and over again.

While he found it astonishing that she had actually wandered to his door so early after her solitude was up to ask him something, he had a hard time accepting how scared and nervous she appeared to be around him, or how badly she was desiring _Barsad's_ help over anything else. After her punishment was through, he expected her to be angry, seething rather, and instead of striving to ignore him due to fear, he had anticipated for her to openly avoid him, and make it obvious she was doing so. She would have never failed to flash him an infuriated glare, with narrowed, hardened eyes, her plump lips pursed firmly and angrily, before she would slowly glance away from him. It would be her way of exuding her hatred toward him for the 'God-awful' solitary confinement he had forced her to go through, although, Bane knew she had _no _idea how excruciating _real _confinement could be. But she wasn't angry. She was sad and scared, and above all, numb.

He knew she was scared due to her voice level and stuttering, but she was numb to everything else. Her face was blank, her body was still, and after she had held herself back from speaking to him, Bane began to wonder if she had even been trying hard to do so. He hadn't prepared himself for this outcome. He was ready for her to be angry and a bitter, and act like a rabid animal set free from its kennel. But Jenna was the opposite. After spending over a month locked away in her room, when it was finally time to face freedom, she merely wandered away from her door, too dull to even realize what she had been granted. Bane had wanted her to be angry and rabid. He was prepared for it, and he knew her hot-tempered behavior would only help him to stay hard with her. But he wasn't ready for her to be so cold, so insensible to everything; he wasn't prepared to witness her mirroring his exact demeanor when he had finally faced freedom...

Bane had been numb. He had finally reached an all time low by the time he was freed, and by then he was under the impression that everything he had faced would never go away, and that nothing would get better. Was Jenna feeling the same way?

Bane wanted to leave the issue alone, but he was too far engulfed in his thoughts. Jenna was free from her room, but was she really? With no desires to go to him and unable to see Isaac, where else did Jenna have to go? Bane had realized this from the moment he freed her from her room, but he had been prepared for a storm of anger from her. He was waiting for her to express to him that she was _not _free, by any means. But this plan had failed, all because no amount of hope had ever reached her. Free or not, Jenna simply did not care anymore.

So why did Bane? Why was he torturing himself by thinking about her for hours on end? Free or not, what did it matter? Whether she learned her lesson or not, what did it matter? Why had he even shunned her to her room in the first place? It wasn't like he was prepared to give her a second chance...

_A second chance? _He mused to himself as he shook his head now. _More like a seventh chance_. Each time Jenna screwed up, Bane always rewarded her with another chance. What had her 'punishment' been? Bane groaned as he turned away from his desk in his room. Merely _another chance_. A chance to correct her ways and _teach _her a lesson. Whether she had learned it or not, was Bane really prepared to have things go back the way they had been?

He spent the rest of the night striving to come up with an answer to this question, but his mind never stuck to any one answer. It was not a yes or no answer, and it wasn't maybe, either. What had she been good for before? What could she prove to be good for now? Their entire relationship had previously been based on lust; had Bane really just kept her around to fulfill the new, sick desires he had begun to crave? What had been wrong with him, and what was wrong with him now for even having the _slightest _bit of desire to go back to that time?

He recalled how Jenna had looked from underneath him during the times they had been intimate in his bedroom. He thought back to the curves of her body, her soft skin, how tight her eyes closed when she moaned and shouted and squirmed from underneath him in pure pleasure. _That _had been the Jenna he strongly desired. _That _had been the Jenna he wanted to see improvement from. And that was when Jenna's fire and personality really showed.

But now, regardless if he wanted to go back to that time or not, he knew Jenna sure didn't, especially after all that he had put her through...

The next morning, all Bane wanted now was to get inside her head, just a little bit. All he wanted to do was discover the root cause of her numbness. Once he found out why she was acting _so _unlike herself, then he knew he could come to a decision of what to ultimately do with her. All he desired was a simple talk; a quick exchange of words. _"Why are you acting so unlike yourself?" _Jenna's answer to his question would eventually start with, _"because I..."_

Simple.

But it seemed Bane was starting to lose his grip, for when he finally ventured out of his room that next morning, he felt utterly idiotic when he realized talking to Jenna would be harder than he had imagined. Just as he had exited his room, he caught Jenna starting to head up the stairs. Her back was hunched, her movements slow, and she kept her head down as she slowly took the stairs, lingering on each for about three second intervals, one by one. He quietly stepped away from his room to watch her and see where she was going, and after he watched her enter the bathroom and close the door, he decided he would wait for her to return.

He stepped over to her door and waited by the wall next to it, and after a few, silent moments had passed, the bathroom door opened, and he watched her slowly make her way back toward the stairs, her head bowed. Once she had reached the basement, her bare feet shuffled and slid across the floor, and as he watched them Bane kept waiting for her to trip on the baggy ends of her sweatpants, but as she neared the door, he abandoned the thought and raised his eyes up, over her her t-shirt and finally onto her face. Her hair covered most of it, but it almost appeared as though her eyes were closed as she neared him. He waited for her to finally notice him, but as she continued to close the distance between them, he began to wonder if she even would. He silently reached his bare right hand out to place on the handle of her door, and just when she was a foot away from her door, ready to wander mindlessly inside, he began to pull the door closed. Jenna had been unaware of this, as well, until she ran directly into the closed the door, and only after she took a step back and lifted her head did she noticed Bane standing directly in front of her. She jumped when her eyes found his towering frame, her mouth opening as she gasped lightly, and a rush of dizziness overcame her. The shock faded, but the dizziness remained strong as she stepped up to her door again, and Bane let go of the handle just before she touched it to gently ease open her door and wordlessly step inside.

Her actions were extremely peculiar to Bane, so much so, that as she wandered toward her cot, Bane could not stop himself from stepping into her room after her. Thousands of questions formed in his head, and as he watched her climb back into her cot, he had a hard time deciding which one to go with first. Since he wanted to use this time to get into her head, he figured any question would do.

"You do realize you are free to spend your time outside of this room," Bane began, suddenly having a hard time believing the miserable girl lying in the cot had once been the fiery woman he had kidnapped months ago. "Why do you remain in here?"

Bane was unsure if Jenna was ignoring him, or if she had simply not even heard his question. She kept her eyes focused off of him as she scooted down into her cot and turned to lay on her left side, and after she had pulled the blanket up to her chin, he took a step further into her room.

"Jenna," he spoke her name louder and in a slightly firmer tone. He kept his eyes focused on her, waiting, but when Jenna merely closed her eyes, he took in a breath. "Jenna," he repeated even firmer, and this time, Jenna finally opened her eyes before they wandered over to look at him. They were still as red as ever, and Bane stared into them for a moment before he went on. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"What question?" Jenna finally mumbled, her tone clearly proving to Bane that she had not heard him.

"Why are you staying in here?"

Jenna closed her eyes, wishing now more than ever Bane would exit her room. Why wasn't he leaving her alone? Why did he care to even converse with her? _Whatever_, Jenna thought absentmindedly to herself...

"...Jenna?" Bane spoke her name a moment later, and he watched her eyes snap open before her eyelids drooped down. Had she started to fall asleep? "Why are you going back to bed?" He asked instead.

"Nothing else to do," she mumbled, blinking slowly before she continued to stare at the wall in front of her.

"You could go outside," Bane pointed out. He closed his eyes as soon as the words had left his mouth, and he let out a sigh from his nose. Already, this difficult conversation was turning into something else...

"There's no point," Jenna replied.

"Why not?"

When Jenna merely shrugged from under the blanket, Bane knew the answer. Because it was cold. Because she couldn't smoke. Because she couldn't talk to Barsad.

"Jenna," he started again, pausing as soon as he realized what he was about to say. Was he really about to bluntly call her out on her odd behavior? Was he really ready to talk to her about it, and dare he say... _help _her? The room began to spin when he realized he couldn't bring himself to change his mind and ask her something else. He became frustrated, as well, when he discovered he was currently unwilling to leave her alone.

"Please just go away," Jenna said softly before Bane could speak up, and she finally closed her eyes again as the strong desire to be away from him flooded over her again. "I don't want to talk."

"You do realize how unlike you that is," Bane pointed out. "I know you are holding yourself back from expressing what is _really _on your mind."

"I have nothing to say to you," Jenna replied, feeling exasperated just from opening her mouth to speak. Her voice was so low and toneless, this alone was shocking. But for her to actually claim she had nothing she wanted to say to him? Bane wasn't sure whether to believe her or not.

"I know you have _much _you want to say to me. I'm giving you a shining opportunity to do so."

Jenna kept her eyes closed. "I don't want it. Please, Bane, just..." she trailed off, never finishing her sentence, and this caused Bane's eyebrows to furrow.

No matter what he said, it was not taking any effect on Jenna. Her body remained still, her voice low and flat, and her answers remained the same. Finally, after a few moments had passed, Bane abandoned his tactics to get into her mind. It was useless, he knew now, for there was nothing even going on in her mind. She was empty, and now it had been proven.

Without another word he finally turned to exit her room. He gently pulled the door behind him, but he didn't bother closing it all the way. What was this _awful _desire he was feeling to understand her side of the emptiness? Once he obtained his answer, what would he do after? Correct it, and help her get onto a better path? _What for! _He wondered, frustrated, to himself.

Regardless, he could not stop the desire to at least understand. It took his mind a while longer to figure it out, but his body already knew what had to be done as it led him up the stairs and out of the exit door, into the snow-covered lot of the warehouse. Only after his mind comprehended the opened garages did he realize what he was about to do, what words he was about to ashamedly take back.

Isaac was inside the warehouse, organizing the bullets he had obtained the night before into his own ammo cases and boxes, and when he noticed Bane stepping into the garage from the corner of his eye, he immediately ceased what he had been doing and glanced up to his boss. Isaac noticed right away how uneasy Bane appeared to be, and he knew it had to do with Jenna. Chances were, Bane had finally seen how odd Jenna was acting. Only, what was he doing coming to Isaac? There was no way he was about to talk to him about Jenna. All that left were words about his plans, but all the necessary actions toward his plans had already been executed accurately and on time. Now, all they were doing was waiting for Karly to finish her part in the operation.

Bane raised his eyes to his second-in-command, and once he looked at him, Isaac knew Bane's words would not have anything to do with the plans.

"I'm giving you permission to speak to Jenna again," Bane told him bluntly after he had glanced away to stare at the floor, and his words were shocking to Isaac. His eyes widened, but he immediately corrected his face as he placed his hand on the work bench to lean against it. "She's... not herself, and for some revolting reason it's starting to bother me."

Isaac couldn't help the small grin that slightly stretched his lips, but when Bane glanced back up at him, Isaac was quick to force it away, and he stared back at Bane with serious eyes.

"Yeah, I noticed that last night," he replied. Bane gave him a simple nod.

"I know you won't question my reasons... but the command to discontinue helping her is now dismissed. Just... see what's wrong with her. If you even want to."

Isaac nodded. He did want to, that desire he could not ignore, but he wondered if this should be considered as a new objective or not.

"Should I report it back to you?"

"It doesn't matter," Bane replied. "This isn't to be considered a mission. Just... _help _her."

Isaac's lips parted, and he couldn't help but to wonder what, exactly, was going on in Bane's head. What had just happened to make him come to this decision? Why was he allowing himself to accept it?

"Got it," Isaac replied as he took his hand away from the work bench. Bane had nothing else to say, and he silently turned to head back into the warehouse. Isaac watched him go for a moment before he bowed his head, finding it utterly odd that Bane had taken back his command. Why did he care if Jenna received help suddenly? Maybe Bane really did care about Jenna, and maybe he cared about her more than he let on, or wanted to...

Regardless, Isaac was curious. He wanted to know why Jenna seemed so numb, as well. He wanted to know more about that dream that had confused her, and he wanted to see if her confinement had proved to improve anything with her previous, childish ways. The desire for answers were strong, but at the same time, as Isaac finally started toward the exit door, he had to wonder if perhaps Jenna had been broken beyond repair...

After stepping inside, Isaac immediately descended the stairs into the basement, and when he lifted his eyes he saw the door to Jenna's room had been slightly left open. Once he approached it, he slowly pushed open the door, and his eyes instantly found Jenna's frame lying in her cot. When he noticed that she was primarily lying on her right side, he couldn't help but to cringe slightly. That was _not _good for her broken arm, and it lead him to wonder how often she had been lying on it.

The small amount of light flooding her room had caused Jenna to open her eyes, and as soon as they wandered toward the door, a shock ran up her spine when she saw Isaac standing there, staring at her. Her lips parted as she slowly began to sit up in her bed, frantically wondering what he was doing in her room. What if Bane caught him? Why was he risking it? As Jenna tried to maintain her thoughts and deal with the pain that was shooting throughout her body from her arm, Isaac was taking a few steps further into her room.

"Hey," he said, unable to help the grin that slid onto his lips. Despite all that he had said to her before and decided was best, he could not stop himself from feeling just the slightest bit glad to get to talk to her again. It was the pull that existed between them, and his inclination to help her that caused the light to appear on his face. His grin had calmed Jenna, making her forget her fret for a moment, and her lips parted in sheer confusion as he approached her cot. "Wanna go smoke?"

Jenna was staring at him. Isaac continued to wait for her leap out of bed and express how badly she wanted to smoke, or even move at all, but she remained stationary. This caused his grin to fade a bit.

"Did Bane say we could?" Jenna asked, unaware of how childish her question had sounded. Isaac couldn't help but to grin again, knowing there was no other way to have asked that question. Either way, it was a legitimate inquiry, and he nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "he did. C'mon."

He turned and started to her door, and once he approached it, Jenna finally pushed the blanket off of her and got out of the cot. Isaac had stopped by the frame of the door, and he glanced over his shoulder as he waited, watching her slowly pick up her coat from the floor before she put her left arm through the sleeve. Once it was on as much as it could be, she lazily put on her boots, leaving them untied, and followed him out of the door.

She felt tired and lifeless, and as she followed Isaac up the stairs she couldn't help but to wonder if she was dreaming again. Bane had granted permission for Isaac to talk to her again? Why? And why was Isaac so quick to _want _to? _Just don't question it_, Jenna blankly told herself. _Just enjoy it... dream or not. _

The snow that continued to fall over night had cast a thicker blanket onto the ground, and as Jenna trudged through it and toward the garages, her hunger for a cigarette was growing stronger and and stronger. However, she knew Isaac would more than likely impede her with question after question, and although Jenna couldn't help but to feel relieved, she found that she still really didn't want to talk about her situation, at all.

She followed Isaac toward the space heater in the middle of the garage, and upon welcoming the warmth, Jenna sat down in the same chair she had the night before her life dropped into an even deeper hell. Isaac pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and after handing one and a lighter to Jenna, he waited for her to light the end before she handed it back. As Jenna sat in silence, exhaling the smoke from her first drag, Isaac lit up his own cigarette and debated with himself for a silent moment, trying to decide where to even start. The questions that were running through his mind were those of tactical, necessary questions, where the answers would be worthy to relay back to Bane, but after another moment had passed, he realized finally they were not the questions he wanted to ask. Suddenly, his true, _personal _concern came rushing back, and he didn't even have to decide what to ask; the question was already escaping from his mouth.

"So what's going on?" He asked as he slowly rounded the chair sitting in front of Jenna's, and when he sat down, he narrowed his question. "Why have you been so...?" He trailed off when Jenna's eyes slowly wandered over to him. As she stared at him, he waited for an explosion of words, all meant to construct her answer, but when she slowly glanced away while lifting her cigarette to her face, his brow furrowed.

"Isaac..." she began slowly, holding the cigarette near her lips. "I... I really don't-"

"Want to talk about it?" He finished. "Why?"

Jenna was frowning. "It's too much. I just... don't..." she paused, a new thought occurring to her, and she glanced over to Isaac. "Is this the only reason why we can talk now? So you can tell Bane what's 'wrong' with me? He already-"

Isaac was already shaking his head. "Jenna, no," Isaac began. "_I _want to know. You came out here last night without a coat and just _sat _there. You're quiet as hell, unaware, and-"

"What's it matter?" Jenna questioned now. "Quiet and unaware is better than being a brat and a child, right?"

Isaac sighed. "That is _not _what I'm talking about Jenna-"

"But it's what you were getting to, right?"

Isaac was about to argue back, but he stopped when he realized the new tone that Jenna's voice carried. Actual annoyance and the slightest bit of anger were laced throughout her voice, and even though this conversation was not going the way he had anticipated, he realized it _was _a start to her improvement. Suddenly, Isaac couldn't help his eagerness in finding out what was going on with her, and fortunately, unlike Bane, he didn't have to hide it.

"It wasn't, actually," he replied slowly as Jenna looked away from him again, and he took a quick drag from his cigarette. "Honestly, I'm concerned. I just want to know what's going on in your head."

"There's nothing going on," Jenna mumbled as she finally took her second drag.

"That's what scares me," Isaac replied honestly. "There's gotta be something... anger, fright? Hostility?"

Jenna was shaking her head. "I really just don't want to talk about it, Isaac," she said again as she closed her eyes. "I'm glad we're talking again, I really am but... I never pictured us talking about _this_."

Isaac furrowed his eyebrows again as his eyes narrowed slightly, and he sat back a little in his chair. "What _did _you picture then?" He asked.

Jenna shrugged slightly. "Just... anything. Jokes, the car... the weather..."

"The weather?" Isaac repeated now with a small grin and raised eyebrows as he leaned forward, and when Jenna glanced over to him, he was staring at her with an incredulous look on his face. "You've spent over a _month _in your room, alone, and now that you're out you want to talk about _the weather?_"

Jenna remained quiet, her red, tired and slitted eyes focused on him, and after a quiet moment had passed, Isaac leaned forward a little more before he turned his head to glance out of the garage doors before he glanced back at her. "It's snowing," he said finally, and he couldn't help but to grow surprised when Jenna actually grinned slightly before glancing away from him. "And it's cold. And wet. And-"

"Okay," Jenna interrupted now. "You don't need to be a dick about it," she added in a mumble. Isaac grinned. Finally, _there _was a piece of the old Jenna.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's talk about something that matters. Look, throughout that whole month I wanted to talk to you. I did," he assured when Jenna looked at him again. "I figured you were fine, but after you mentioned something about that dream, it all went downhill." When Jenna sighed and glanced away from him, he knew he had found their main topic of choice for the time being. "What _was_ that dream, Jenna?"

She began to shake her head, and she took another drag from her cigarette. "Isaac..."

"You still think it was real, don't you?" He pressed on.

"I don't know," Jenna mumbled. This was not what she wanted to talk about. Her desires to talk to and hang out with Isaac had grown by two hundred percent over the past month, but these topics were not what Jenna wanted to talk about. Through all her dreams and fantasies, the two never touched on these topics. Instead, Jenna was happier, or on the path to happiness, due to Isaac and their off-topic conversations, _actually _about jokes, the car, or the weather. Jenna wanted to talk about anything that would not relate back to Bane or the situation she had been placed in.

Isaac had grown quiet, and as Jenna continued to puff away on her cigarette, she could feel him staring at her, waiting. But even though Jenna was_ finally _amongst Isaac, she still refused to answer his questions. Truth was, since she had shut herself away from everything, she really didn't remember much, and for the things she _did _remember, she didn't want to recollect them, or verbally speak of them. She had pictured such clear conversations and settings for her and Isaac, but this was not one of them.

She closed her eyes, the voice in the back of her mind reminding her to just be happy that she was with him, outside of her room. She knew she didn't have to answer his questions, and she knew that eventually Isaac would stop trying. Eventually, he would forget about it as well, and the path to Jenna's _real _recovery could begin.

* * *

**Yay! I was able to get this chapter out quicker than I expected! I hope you enjoyed it! If you want Bane to be your valentine, please review! :D :D**  
**Also, I would like to touch base on something. I will not mention what is in store, but please keep in mind this is a BANE/Oc story. You've trusted me this far with the plot, please continue to do so :)**  
**As always, a huge thanks to my beta. She is my second pair of eyes and my second brain. **


	20. Unable to Heal

The next few days passed seamlessly and quickly. Each morning, regardless of how much sleep she obtained, Jenna woke feeling more tired than she did prior to going to bed. Her back, shoulders and right arm always throbbed, and as the day went on the pain would fade, but it never failed to start over each morning. Jenna still felt primarily mindless, but each new day she woke up with frustration due to her aching body, and she always spent a silent moment cursing to herself for sleeping directly on her broken arm. Unfortunately, she knew, there was no way of consciously correcting this during her slumber.

She spent her days outside of her room, avoiding the small area as much as she could, and almost every hour was spent in the garage with Isaac. Outside, the snow continued to grow worse, falling from the sky with no signs of stopping, but Jenna felt too strained to care. She bundled herself in her coat, the cleanest clothes she could find, socks and her boots, and would exit her room, relieved that she could spend time outside of her room, even if that meant braving against the cold.

For the majority of the time, her and Isaac didn't talk much. The day after her first night outside of her room and during the beginning of her week of freedom, Isaac didn't attempt to talk to her much when other thugs stood around in the garage, but as soon as they started spending more time inside, Isaac became verbose. Jenna didn't mind this. In fact, she liked it; during her final week of isolation, all her thoughts had been centered around Isaac and all the things they would discuss, but she had never anticipated having such a hard time actually talking to him. It wasn't that Jenna didn't want to, there was nothing she desired more than conversing with him, but her body would not let her. She feared that any one of their conversations could lead into a discussion of her punishment, and this was the last thing she wanted to talk about. Whether he was aware or not, her silence never stopped Isaac from asking her questions.

At first they had been direct. As soon as Jenna would enter the empty garage and lay eyes on Isaac working on the Challenger or cleaning some sort of weapon on the work bench, he would ask her how she was, and a few moments after she'd answer he'd dive right into a question.

_"How are you feeling _really_?" _

_ "Will you please tell me what that dream was about?" _

_ "During that time what did you think about? What did you do?"_

His tone was always gentle and quiet, but Jenna refused to answer any of these questions. Just the inquires alone brought about unwanted memories, and after being forced to think about them for a moment, Jenna would merely shake her head._ "I don't want to talk about it," _she would reply. Sometimes, her body wouldn't even let her speak this many words. _"I don't know," _was her most common reply.

There were times when Isaac and Jenna would get into a very shallow discussion about the weather or Isaac's morning, but these topics were always short-lived, and as soon as they ended the two wouldn't exchange any words at all. At first Jenna couldn't help but to feel upset about this, and the silence only forced her to reminisce over the scenarios she had come up with about Isaac and herself, and the more intricate, innocent conversations they would have. After two days of this, however, Jenna became comfortable with the silence, and all she began to desire was just Isaac's company alone. Sitting in the garage near the space heater in the silence while watching him work helped Jenna to focus on things other than her punishment, her desire to live the silly fantasies she had thought of during the beginning of her isolation, and Bane. She was appreciative that Isaac had abandoned his attempts to get into her mind, and understand what was _really _going on with her, but little did Jenna know, this luck would be changing faster than she could have anticipated.

During the fifth day of her freedom, Jenna found herself spending the vast majority of it inside her room, where she busied herself with sleeping and organizing her clothes into the categories of cleanest to dirtiest. Now, just as the sun was setting, Jenna let out a sigh as she rose from her cot, hungry for a cigarette. Isaac hadn't given her her own pack, but this didn't bother Jenna. She was fine with venturing to the garage to gratefully take one of his and enjoy his quiet company. These instances had become the highlight of her days.

Knowing for an almost sure fact that Isaac would already be in the garage, after she put on her coat and boots, she quietly eased open her door and started toward the stairs, her sight focused only ahead of her. She had dropped the habit of searching for Bane before leaving her room. She couldn't recall seeing him once during the past five days, but then again she wasn't really even paying attention. Chances were he had been in the basement when she was, watching her head up the stairs, but she never noticed if he actually was. This was fine with her. She didn't want to see him.

After making it up the stairs, Jenna let out a yawn as she started toward the exit door, the thought of washing her hair crossing her mind, but just when she began to try and recall when the last time she had washed it was, as soon as she opened the exit door she was greeted with a face full of wind and the sight of thick, heavy snow falling from the sky and sticking to the ground. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and they watered due to the cold gust of wind hitting them directly, but just when she was ready to trudge through the snow and go over to the garage, not even realizing the garage doors were all closed, she heard footsteps against metal next to her. She glanced over her shoulder and watched Isaac finish climbing down his ladder from his room, a pack of cigarettes in his hand, and he didn't notice her standing there until he started down the hall past her.

"Oh, hey," he said once his eyes found her slightly slouched frame, holding onto the door. "You going out?"

He watched Jenna barely nod before he nodded himself, and his eyes wandered past her to stare out of the door and into the blizzard of snow before he glanced at her again.

"C'mon," he said. "Let's go this way."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed slightly, but nonetheless she let the door close as she stepped away from it to follow Isaac toward the basement stairs. She stopped behind him when he stopped in front of a black, metal door directly next to the stairs, and she watched him open it with confused eyes. Where were they going?

She was left no time to ponder the question too deeply, for as soon as Isaac stepped through the door, Jenna was right behind him. Freezing temperatures instantly greeted her as she stepped through the door, and she couldn't help but to grow slightly surprised when she discovered they were in the garage; she had never known that door was a quicker way inside of it.

She followed Isaac past the long and tall, metal shelves of old light-bulbs and other warehouse supplies, the lights dimly illuminating the garage from up ahead, and once they reached the main, open area of the garage, she grew satisfied when she saw they were alone. Now, she could she could enjoy a cigarette while silently watching Isaac work on something. Next to her, Isaac had pulled out two cigarettes, and Jenna plucked one from his gentle grasp before instantly stepping toward the four chairs that were circled around the space heater. She sat in her usual chair, the red one directly in front of the heater, and she waited for Isaac to light his cigarette as he sat next to her in the blue chair. As he exhaled, he handed her his lighter, and once Jenna had lit hers she glanced over to him while she handed it back to him, his fingers brushing against hers lightly.

"You're not gonna work on the car?" She asked in a voice just above a whisper. Anyone else would have had a hard time hearing or understanding her, but Isaac had grown use to her to quiet tones. He didn't look at her as he reached over to turn on the heater, and as he leaned back in his chair he took another drag from his cigarette.

"Nah, not tonight," he replied as he kept his eyes focused on the heater, watching as the coils inside of it began to turn red.

"Why?"

Isaac shrugged. "Takin' a break." Just as he knew it would, the start of their conversation died, and he listened to Jenna take a hit from her own cigarette while watching her turn away from him from the corner of his eye. He kept his eyes focused on the heater without blinking them, and once his vision began to blur a long, few moments later, he blinked his eyes twice as he leaned back slightly while taking another drag.

He wished there was some way he could make Jenna open up and talk to him, even in the slightest bit. He felt that constantly sitting in the silence was getting them nowhere, and forcing them into a different direction that he didn't want to be in. He wanted to be on the path to helping her recover, and strengthen herself, but all their conversations always headed directly to a dead end, and she was never willing to open up about anything. It was frustrating, though at the same time Isaac realized Jenna had been doing more that week than she probably had that entire month. She was talking more than she had during her punishment, and actually spending her time doing new things. Perhaps the silence wasn't all too terrible. Perhaps it was just where they needed to start.

As the minutes ticked on, the two remained silent, the only sound coming from the heater, which gave off a gentle hum that seemed to fill up the entire garage. Isaac remained staring at the coils within the heater, his vision blurred again, his eyes heavy, while Jenna stared at the end of her cigarette, her eyes repeatedly traveling up to follow the line of smoke until it dissipated in the air above her. She could feel the impatient and curious energy radiating from Isaac next to her, the energy almost more powerful than the heat given off by the heater, but as she easily remained silent she continued to anticipate the questions Isaac was desperate to ask, and as she listened to the humming, she waited.

A few moments later, Isaac moved in his chair next to her, and after he placed his ankle on top of his knee, he leaned back in his chair while he took a hit of his cigarette, his arms rested on the arms of the chair. Jenna reverted her gaze away from her cigarette, and she stole a glance at Isaac as she took a drag herself, thankful that Isaac couldn't see her do this. Even with his eyes closed, he appeared tired and exhausted, his body suggesting he was ready to go up to bed, but Jenna had come to learn he would not abandon her. He always proved to wait until she was ready to go inside first. Frowning, she took a final hit from her cigarette before she lazily let the butt fall to the cold floor, where it would eventually burn out on its own.

The noise of the cigarette hitting the ground caused Isaac's eyes to slowly open, and as he rolled them to his right he watched Jenna quickly glance away, her hair swaying due to her rapid movement. Jenna hoped he hadn't seen her looking, but when she heard him take in a breath, she realized he had.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice broke through the silence. Jenna's eyebrows furrowed, but no other expression crossed her face. She knew Isaac was hoping her answer would finally give him an in to her troubles, but Jenna was still stubborn in the fact that she was not going to talk to him –or anyone for that matter– about the issues involving her seclusion.

"Nothing," she replied. Isaac continued to stare at her. Judging by the way her eyebrows had furrowed for a second made him think she was not telling him the truth, though at the same time Isaac knew it was a great possibility that absolutely nothing _was _going on her head at the moment.

"Does anything ever go on inside your head?" Isaac wanted to end his question with the word 'anymore', but he held himself back from doing so, and instead waited for an answer. Next to him, Jenna merely shrugged as she stared at the floor.

"Sometimes."

Isaac reverted his gaze away. At least she was being honest, it seemed. Perhaps Bane's 'punishment' had taught her something. But even if it had, what was the lesson worth if Jenna wasn't even acting like herself?

"Like what?"

Jenna sighed. "Just... things, I guess."

A short minute passed before Isaac spoke up again, his eyes focused on the floor now, as well. "When are you gonna want to talk about those things?" The question slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, but he knew this was a good thing. Had he thought about it, chances are he would have held back, for he was learning asking Jenna these questions outright was of no use.

"Isaac," Jenna said now in that quiet, gentle voice. "I really don't want to talk about any of it."

"I just want to help you, you know." Isaac rolled his head against the back of the chair to glance at her with his heavy eyes, and when Jenna turned to look at him she could easily make out the sincerity spread over his features and in his eyes.

"I know," she replied. "But, talking won't help."

"You don't know that."

"Neither do you." Jenna's frown deepened as she glanced away. Not only could she make out the sincerity in his features, but his heavy eyes appeared more strained than usual. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Alright," Isaac said as he watched Jenna lean up before standing from the chair. Following her actions, he stood up as well. When Jenna turned to glance up at him, she forced a smile to stretch her plump lips, but the smile never met her eyes.

"Goodnight," she said simply, quietly, before she started toward the door in which they had entered the garage. Isaac turned to watch her go, and once the door closed behind her, he turned again to shut off the heater. Checking to make sure his cigarettes and lighter were in his coat pocket, once he felt the items inside, he started toward the door himself, and before he stepped through it he turned off the lights to the garage. The warehouse was warm, and as he let the door close behind him he stole a quick glance at Jenna's back as she descended the stairs into the dark basement before he ventured through the hallways and to the ladder to his room.

His limbs felt heavy as he climbed the ladder, his hands desiring nothing more than to let go of the cool metal and let him fall to the floor where he could just lay down and cease movement. But picturing his bed in his mind helped him to complete the task of entering his room, and as soon as he was inside, he shrugged off his coat while closing his door with his foot. After he hung his coat on the rack behind the door, he locked it before starting over to his bathroom, his hand finding the back of his black t-shirt before he pulled it smoothly and effortlessly over his head before letting it drop to the floor. Snapping on the light to his bathroom, his eyes immediately squinted when the bright fluorescent lights shone and reflected off the white walls and tile, and he placed his hands on either side of his sink, steadying himself against it as he gazed into his own, light blue eyes in the mirror. Why wasn't Jenna talking to him?

He couldn't understand why she was so unwilling. Before all of this had happened, Isaac was always the first person Jenna went to when she had a problem, needed answers, or just a friend to converse with. What had changed? Why had it changed, and how did they fix it? _I know how to fix it_, Isaac thought to himself as he opened the medicine cabinet to take out his toothbrush. _It's just a matter of getting her to talk to me._

Directly asking her questions wasn't working, but Isaac didn't know how else to go about it. All the men that surrounded him, including Bane, were capable of handling being spoken to bluntly about dire topics, and answering the direct question at hand. Part of the reason it was so odd having Jenna around was that she was not like this, especially now, when she needed to be the most. Isaac wasn't the type of man to beat around the bush and ease the topic of his choice on someone, or purposely trick them into it. It was clear now, however, that it seemed as though this was how he had to go about it.

But why force anything on her, he wondered as he stuck the toothbrush into his mouth before he started to move it over his teeth, and he ventured out of the bathroom to reach up and turn on his TV, mounted onto the wall. The voices of newscasters emitted from the television, and once it was on he turned to head back into the bathroom. It was clear that whatever was bothering Jenna was a strong entity that she just wanted to avoid all together. Isaac wanted to tell her and prove to her that avoiding it would eventually fail, but at the same time, his softer side wanted to assist Jenna with handling it the way she wanted. But he couldn't start to help her until she started giving him answers.

A few moments later, after his teeth were brushed and his mouth was rinsed, Isaac turned off the bathroom light as he stepped toward his bed. After undoing his gray cargo pants and letting them fall to the floor, he climbed into his bed, remote in hand, and he sighed to himself as he rested his head on the pillow. _Just be patient_, he told himself. _Stop asking questions for now, and let her come to you. Let the topic come up naturally. _As Isaac glared blankly at the bright TV, he knew this would be easier said than done.

Upon hearing gentle footsteps from outside of his open door, Bane turned his body slightly from his spot on the foot of bed before he slowly leaned over to peer outside of his door. His eyes immediately found the stairs, and as he listened to the slow, steady, and quiet footsteps, he waited to see Jenna. He hadn't really seen her much that week, he had been spending the vast majority of his time in room while he knew Jenna to be in the garage with Isaac, but now that he was about to see her, he wondered if he'd be able to make out any physical improvement. Whether that improvement was evident in her body, her facial appearance, voice or tone, Bane couldn't help his strong desire to know.

Once Jenna reached the last few steps and started to shuffle her feet across the floor, a frown found Bane's lips as he watched her. Her body was slouched, her shoulders slumped, and her head was partially titled down while her feet skidded against the floor as she started to her door. From behind his mask, Bane thinned his lips and wrinkled the bridge of his nose as his eyebrows furrowed, and after he had turned to glance at the newscaster on his TV for a second, he stood from his bed and wandered out of his room.

Jenna had just reached her door when Bane had started following her, and judging by the way she pushed open her door and immediately started inside, Bane knew she hadn't even heard him approaching her. Was she still that unalert? In the past she was _always _able to sense his presence; the quick tense in her shoulders before she could even turn around when he neared always gave this away. He stepped up to her door frame and watched her pull back the blanket to her bed, and just before she could turn and start removing her boots, he spoke up.

"Have you been making the most of your freedom?"

Jenna jumped as a strong shock ran throughout her body, and when she turned her head to glance at Bane from over her shoulder, that same shock ran up her spine as her lips parted. How long had he been there? When had he followed her? For a man as large as him, how could he be so quiet? Her eyes betraying her, they wandered down his body, taking in sight of his shirtless frame, black sweatpants and bare feet before she forced herself to look away, her heart plummeting to her stomach. The shock of hearing his voice for the first time that week, and observing his muscular frame standing at her door was enough to cause her to go lightheaded, and she immediately forgot his question. But whatever it had been, she didn't want to answer it, for she knew it more than likely had to do with her prior solitude.

Bane watched Jenna turn around fully now before sitting down at the edge of her cot, and as he watched her take off her boots, he noticed that they had never even been tied. The bottom of her sweatpants leg slowly fell down to her ankle once she took off the boot, and Bane noticed the way the other leg had been bunched up on top of the boot. This time, feeling him watching her, Jenna took hold of the leg of the sweatpants and quickly pushed it down before she could even take the boot off. This caused Bane's eyebrows to furrow, but nonetheless, he remained patient as he waited for an answer, curious to hear not only her answer, but her tone, as well.

But just as he had been anticipating in the back of his mind, Jenna never offered him an answer as she scooted back into the cot, and as soon as she began to lay down, Bane crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame.

"Are you choosing to ignore me, or did you fail to hear my question?" He asked her now. Jenna's eyes, still red, though not as severe, wandered over to him, and she stared directly into his own eyes on either side of the mask before she rested her head against the pillow and pulled up her blanket to cover her body. She tore her eyes away from his and focused them on the floor.

"I didn't hear you," she replied. This answer, alone, was slightly shocking to Bane, for he had been anticipating for Jenna to merely ignore him. Instead, she had offered him the truth, and whether she realized it or not, offered him the open opportunity to ask her again.

"Have you been making the most of your freedom?"

Jenna kept her eyes focused on the floor on a spot that kept Bane out of her peripheral vision. "I guess," she replied.

"What have you been doing?"

_Why do you _care_? _Jenna wondered, but she did not express this thought, and instead she merely shrugged from underneath her blanket. "Hang out in the garage. Smoke."

Bane nodded as his eyes dropped to the floor now, as well. Her voice was quiet, but her tone was truthful. Perhaps Jenna _had _learned something, after all. "And... what is so beneficial about smoking in the garage?"

Jenna let out a quiet sigh. "I get to spend time outside of this room. And-" she stopped herself, but when Bane finished her sentence, she closed her eyes and sucked in a long breath through her nose.

"-Speak with Isaac?" Bane finished, lifting his eyes to look at her, and he noticed she had closed her own eyes. Jenna hadn't wanted to mention anything about Isaac, for she feared it would only cause Bane to ask what they talked about, or, the lack thereof. But now, what good would denying this be?

"Yeah," Jenna answered curtly, unaware that Bane had nodded slightly.

"Officials are about ready to give up their search for you," he informed suddenly, his information causing Jenna to open her eyes. "...and simply declare you as good as dead."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

Bane raised his eyes to ceiling as he took in a breath through his mask, the eerie noise filling the entire room, it seemed. "Because they feel that searching for you in the most obvious places were enough. Since they can't find you, and it has been so long–"

"No," Jenna surprised herself when she interrupted him quietly. "I mean why would you tell me that?"

Her question caught Bane off guard. Why would she wonder that? Regardless, Bane shifted the weight from his right foot to his left before he answered her. "I figured it would be a suiting thing to inform you of," he began.

"How?"

"Officials are ready to give up the search and declare you as deceased. You've been nothing but ghost-like for a while now, so I figured this announcement was appropriate. Their incorrect statement will unknowingly have some truth to it."

Jenna's eyebrows remained furrowed as she stared ahead at the wall now, able to see Bane staring at her. "Why would they give up so quickly?" She wondered softly, more so to herself, but Bane had heard her.

"It's a lost cause. Your parents are dead, and whether you are alive and well or dead and rotted does not matter to them anymore, because either way you wouldn't have done anything to benefit this city. You already proved that about yourself. Besides, Gotham is already welcoming its newest stars to the community. Some model with concern for the poor, and her wealthy aunt and uncle."

_Unbelievable, _Jenna couldn't help but to think to herself. What kind of city got distracted from a dire search and rescue just because somebody prettier, fancier, and wealthier showed up? How could they so easily drop their efforts to put all their time and energy welcoming and following this new girl? Chances were she didn't even know what she was replacing, and if she did, she more than likely didn't care. The more Jenna thought about it, the more frustrated she became, and she couldn't help the next thing that came flying from her mouth.

"You gonna go terrorize her, too?"

Her question caught Bane off guard yet again, but this time he couldn't help the grin that stretched his lips as he straightened his back. Wrinkles formed on either sides of his eyes, but Jenna hadn't noticed. For some sick reason, her tone affected Bane and caused him to smile; her tone sounded just like her former self: low and annoyed with a hint of sarcasm. It was the first actual tone Bane had heard her speak in in a while. His grin softened now into more of a smirk, and he uncrossed his arms.

"No," he replied. "You are more than enough, Jenna."

His words stung the back of her neck and caused her to go light-headed again, but Jenna tried her hardest to ignore them. She still couldn't believe she had even asked that question, and she had been aware of her tone, as well. It was a question that just slipped out, in a tone that suggested she thought Bane was an idiot. But his answer...

Her stomach growled gently suddenly, and a new question formed in her mind. It was ridiculous how quickly hunger had washed over her, but Jenna had a hard time trying to remember when the last time she had really eaten was. Would Bane let her go with Isaac to that diner? From the corner of her eye she could see Bane had turned away from her and was about to step out of her room, but before he could take a first step, she quickly spoke up.

"Bane?"

Bane had paused and turned around, but in her cot a new-found, stronger dizzy spell had overcome her. Just speaking his name alone had brought such strong, physical shocks to roam over her body, and many, unwanted feelings and memories. His name carried so many meanings to her. At first she had been passive about it; she didn't care about Bane, that is, until he took her. Then she had loathed it; his name brought on nothing but hateful and angry feelings as she began to understand the severity of her situation. But all too quickly, his name was attached to lust and immense want, and rather than speaking his name straight, the word came out in the form of a moan from her mouth. Cringing slightly, Jenna felt herself on the verge of getting sick at the thought. But soon after, his name instilled more anger into her, and this time around, even fear. He had broken her arm and shunned her away for over a _month_. She _hated _him, yet she feared her punishment would only be the lesser of the torment that was to come. Unfortunately, she couldn't help but to still feel this way. If just his name alone brought on such a strong surge of emotion, then perhaps Jenna had never realized the severity of feelings that anything else about him brought on, such as sight, scent, and the feel of his body from underneath her hands. Jenna thinned her lips as she closed her eyes tightly, her stomach giving another painful twist.

Bane stayed by the door, and he kept his eyes focused on her as he waited to see what she had wanted. Truth was, he was just as shocked as she was to hear her speak his name. However, from where she lay in her cot, trembling slightly as she kept her eyes closed, Jenna had completely forgotten what she had wanted to ask. She could feel Bane's eyes on her, burning holes through the blanket, and before his scorching vision could start to burn her body, she turned her head slightly to look at him before she merely shook her head. Surprisingly, Bane either accepted her desire to quit speaking with him, or actually understood it. Without a word, he turned around, and after he had turned off her light, he gently pulled the door closed behind him. Upon watching, Jenna noticed that he hadn't closed it all the way, and a thin sliver of light from his own room shone dimly into her room. Her eyes grew heavier, but even after she closed them and readjusted her position, her heart would not stop racing.

Although the snow had stopped falling from the thick, gray clouds nearly an hour ago, the temperate remained below freezing outside, and the cold had started to seep into the warehouse from under the partially closed garage door. Each time a strong gust of wind occurred outside, it would blow snow inside of the warehouse, the wind whistling eerily as it passed from underneath the garage door as it rattled and shook it, the loud noises echoing throughout the area inside.

For the past hour, Jenna had made herself comfortable in her chair within the garage, and during the hour she had scooted closer and closer to the space heater, inch by inch every time the wind rattled the doors and blew snow inside, until finally she was sitting less than a foot in front of it. A clear view of the Challenger was bestowed a good ten to fifteen feet directly in front of her, parked in front of the work bench, and as Jenna rested in her chair, the heat radiating from the large heater warming her shins, knees, arms and face, she kept her eyes focused on Isaac as he worked on the car. Jenna had already gone through six cigarettes within the hour, but she wouldn't let herself feel too bad about this; Isaac had already smoked three more than her.

When she first came into the garage, their shallow conversation about the snow had died down just as quickly as it had started, leaving them in near silence, save for the low humming from the heater and the random noises that erupted from Isaac's tools as he worked on the car. As she sat there quietly, and during the entirety of her freedom thus far, the feeling of realization and immense appreciation of her freedom would still not sink in, no matter how hard or long she thought about it, and regardless of her conversation with Bane two nights before. She could feel it harboring at the surface, waiting to penetrate through her body and fill her heart and mind, but her cold, outer shell kept the feelings from warming her. After the half hour long battle, however, Jenna abandoned them, for she was just glad to be sitting in the same room as Isaac with the opportunity to talk to him if she wanted. Jenna still did want to talk to him, but she still was not ready to converse about the horrors from her punishment, even after Isaac had gone a full night without bringing up any questions, for some reason or another. As she stayed silent, she conjured ideal topics she could bring up, but her lips refused to do anything for the time being but wrap gently around the filter of a cigarette. This didn't upset Jenna. Isaac's physical company alone was helping to keep her content.

However, as the hour had ticked on, Jenna began to realize she was slightly nervous to talk to him suddenly. During the final week of her isolation, she had imaged so many ways that Isaac could save her and help her to get over all this pain, but now she found herself unwilling of answering his questions, and unable to hold any sort of conversation with him. She had imagined so many conversations she could have with Isaac, and how easily she would be able to talk to him, but when facing reality, she feared statements explaining the horrors from the past month would slip past her in the midst of one of their friendly and innocent conversations. When she realized this at the end of the hour, she lit up her seventh cigarette and decided she was comfortable with their silence, the humming, and the clanking of tools for now.

Isaac had already lit his tenth cigarette, and it dangled loosely from between his lips as he shuffled around in the top drawer of the work bench, his blue eyes focused on the contents within. Once he found the tool he was looking for, Jenna watched him round the large black car, leaving a trail of white smoke behind him, and her eyes narrowed on his face. She hadn't noticed until now, but it was evident Isaac had shaved maybe a week ago, Jenna guessed. Thick, dark brown stubble covered his chin, jawline, and the area above his upper lip, and as Isaac bent down next to the car, his back facing her, Jenna realized she liked the stubble on his face much more than the actual beard he had started to grow.

She watched for another moment as Isaac turned again, and after he moved to lay underneath the car on his back, Jenna watched him reach his arm out from under the Challenger to ash his cigarette before he placed it back in his mouth, his head turned to the right as he stared up at the car with only his eyes. Uninterested now with whatever he was doing to the car, she glanced away, taking a long drag from her own cigarette as she absentmindedly scooted even closer to the heater when a gust of wind rattled the doors. Her eyes focused on the corner in between an old desk and the wall, just next to one of the garage doors. Just as she began to idly wonder who had taken it upon himself to actually sweep the garage, Isaac's voice and his boots scraping against the floor interrupted her thoughts.

"Ow, _shit_," he mumbled loudly to himself as he moved away from the Challenger, and when Jenna turned her head to look at him she watched as he sat on the floor, rubbing his left eye.

"What happened?" She asked, clearing her throat when she discovered how hoarse her voice was, and she watched as Isaac proceeded to rub his eye with the back of his wrist to avoid smearing the grease that covered the other side of his hand on his face.

"Fuckin' smoke got in my eye," he replied with a frown, but he chuckled a moment later as he finally stopped rubbing his eye, the skin around it reddening. "I think it's time for a break."

"What were you working on?" Jenna asked, pleased with simplicity of the developing conversation. She anticipated for his answer to be completely foreign to her –she didn't know the first thing about car maintenance– but as long as the talk kept away from her personal horrors, she was fine with it.

"Replacing the starter," Isaac replied as he sat in the chair next to hers. Jenna wasn't too sure what the starter did, exactly, or why it needed to be replaced, but she nodded as she took another drag from her cigarette in unison with Isaac, the red around his left eye already starting to fade. The conversation died, and as Jenna struggled to start one up again, she realized her body was completely blocking the heat from hitting Isaac. Without a word she moved her chair back, the cold in the garage instantly sending a wave of faint goosebumps to cover her arms from underneath her jacket, but even though the heat hitting her had become fainter, she knew it was directly hitting Isaac now, as well.

"Thanks," he mumbled as he stared at the heater, aware of what she had done.

"No problem," she replied as she took another drag.

Thousands of topics and questions were running wild in Isaac's head, but he knew if he was to speak any of them out loud, he would not receive an answer from Jenna. The past week and two nights before, Isaac had attempted to bring up talk of Jenna's isolation, but the answers he got were still rehearsed and shallow, ranging from _'I don't know' _to _'I don't wanna talk about it.' _Even when the two talked about something completely unrelated, Jenna's answers were monotone and curt, and it didn't take long for Isaac to realize he was literally talking to an empty shell. It caused him to wonder again if Jenna just simply didn't want to talk to him, and if all she desired was silent company. Isaac could understand this, but still, he felt strong in the belief that silence would not help Jenna heal, and truthfully Isaac was starting to get fed up with the silence. For a minute he wondered if the short-lived conversations were primarily his fault, but with further thought he realized it was mainly due to Jenna's curtness. He wanted to talk to her, and he wanted her to reply with more than just a sentence. Thinking further, he figured he simply needed a foundation so he could start to truly help her.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked the first question that popped into his head the second he desired the foundation, and he turned his head to look at her. Jenna slowly turned to him, her red eyelids low and her mouth in the shape of a seemingly permanent frown, and just when Isaac expected her to merely shrug, she surprised him when she actually offered a verbal answer.

"I don't have one, really," she replied as she looked away to take another drag from her cigarette. Isaac ashed his own as he spoke up again with a small grin, though he had to wonder if his attempt at any sort of conversation would prove to fail again.

"Oh, c'mon. Everyone has a favorite color."

Jenna could see him grinning from the corner of her eye, but all she offered him was a shrug before another verbal answer. "I really don't have one. Not a particular one, anyway."

"Name your top three," Isaac prompted. Jenna sighed, but she surprised him further when a miniscule grin touched her lips. But when she turned to face him again, it vanished.

"It's complicated," she replied. Why did Isaac want to know what her favorite color was? _Oh well_, Jenna thought, deciding it would be more beneficial to just welcome the silly inquiry than question Isaac's intentions. Next to her, Isaac let out a short laugh.

"It's complicated?" He repeated, his grin never leaving his lips. "How so?" He cocked his head to the side slightly, truly curious.

"Because it changes day to day," Jenna replied honestly as she looked into his eyes.

"What's your favorite color now?"

"Black."

"Of course," Isaac replied with a roll of his eyes. "What was your favorite color a week ago?"

"Black."

"Alright then." He leaned back in his chair, and as he took a drag from his cigarette, Jenna wondered if this conversation had reached its quick end like all the others. But as soon as she had thought this, Isaac was rolling his head against the back of his chair to look at her again with that same, curious grin, and those characteristic, sleepy eyes. "What was your favorite color a year ago?"

He anticipated for Jenna to shrug him off or glance away slightly in thought, but he was shocked when she had an instant answer for him. "Purple," she replied. Isaac tugged the corners of his lips down as he nodded.

"Purple," he repeated. "So you know –for a _fact– _that your favorite color was purple on December 23rd, 2011?"

He couldn't help but to sit up and lean closer to her slightly when a small smile stretched her lips as she nodded. "Yes, I do," she replied. "I remember I was so hung-up on the fact that I wanted all the accessories for my birthday party to be purple."

_Amazing, _Isaac thought. Or, repulsively ridiculous. He had not anticipated for his kindergarten question to bring about an _actual_ conversation. But he kept on with it.

"Where do I even start with that," he wondered, shaking his head. "A _birthday party_? How old were you turning, eleven?"

"No," Jenna replied, unable to help but to grin again. At long last, they were experiencing a stronger conversation, but Jenna was careful to watch what she said. She didn't want any of her words to divert the conversation into something else. "I was turning twenty two. Celebrations were something my parents were obsessed about. But, it was fine." Here she shrugged as she glanced away, and she took another hit from her cigarette. "Eventually my parents would get sick of my friends, and they'd leave with all the people _they _invited. That's when the party really started."

"Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll?" Isaac wondered, his grin expanding. Jenna nodded as she glanced over at him, a faint, new-found light in her eyes.

"Something like that."

"So, why purple?" Isaac asked now.

"Because I had worn out the color blue the month before. And my mother refused to decorate the house in black. I wasn't about to have a Christmas themed party." The word Christmas sounded practically foreign to her. Jenna had learned without anybody having to say anything that holidays were considered to be just another day around the warehouse and Bane's operation. But this didn't bother her. Holidays were never anything but stressful to Jenna anyway.

Isaac let out another chuckle. "So, black makes the top three list?"

"I guess," Jenna replied. "What's your favorite color?" She asked him now. She watched Isaac pause for a moment before he glanced down to his faded, army green cargo pants.

"Green," he replied, and he grinned again when Jenna rolled her eyes.

"That's stupid," she replied when her eyes found his again. Isaac's eyebrows met in the middle.

"Why is it stupid?"

"Because that's the only color you wear," Jenna replied.

"It's not."

"It's the only color _anyone _around here wears," she went on. Isaac was high above this conversation, but for the sake of the moment, and for the sake of Jenna's new-found tones and thoughts, he found himself genuinely enjoying it. Finally, he was obtaining that foundation.

"Not really," he replied. "There's black, gray, brown... _tan_..."

Jenna was shaking her head. "It's all the same shade, though."

Isaac shrugged. "Blame the crew. It what's we wear. But as soon as we switch it up and start going out in purple and pink, you'll be the first to know."

Jenna was staring at him. "So... green then?"

"Green," Isaac repeated as he leaned back in his chair. "When did you start smoking?"

"When I was nineteen," Jenna said as she glanced away. "What about you?"

"Sixteen," Isaac replied, his head still resting against the back of the chair while his eyes stayed focused on her, and he didn't ask his second question until Jenna finally looked back to him. "I bet your parents nearly killed you when they found out, huh?"

Jenna rolled her eyes again as she faced forward, and she shook her head as she lifted her cigarette to take a final drag. "You don't know the half of it." She dropped her cigarette onto the ground and smashed it down with her foot before she glanced over to Isaac again. "My mother cried. My father nearly broke a door."

Isaac was nodding now as he stared at the cigarette filter in between his fingers. The cigarette had burnt itself out, and as he spoke up he tossed the butt away from himself. "Seems like the expected reactions."

Jenna let out a short breath of laughter. "Yeah... _right. _My mom was crying because she was worried about _her_ reputation. Her _perfect _daughter _smoking_? How would that _look_?" Jenna's eyes had widened slightly in emphasis as she stared ahead at the heater. "My father was just mad because I had found another way to upset my mom. They didn't care..."

She shook her head as she glanced away. In just a few short moments, Isaac had seen more emotion on Jenna's face than he had seen over the span of over an entire month. So this had been what Jenna wanted: a normal conversation that was unrelated to what really mattered. Isaac wanted to respect this, and he wanted to carry on with it, but the questions he deeply desired answers to would not stop swarming around in his head. He leaned up in his chair before placing his elbow on the arm of it, and he turned his body to face her more.

"Do you think that's really true though? That they _really, _actually didn't care about you?"

"You met my mom, Isaac," Jenna replied as she glanced over to him. "You saw it for yourself."

Isaac nodded. "Is that why you weren't upset when Bane killed them?"

A lump had risen in Jenna's throat, and she immediately felt lightheaded as a strong sense of grief washed over her. The sensation was so strong that it caused her to take a hold of either arm on the chair, and her lips parted slightly as she sucked in a sharp, quiet breath. She recalled how heavily she had cried over her parents during the beginning of her lonely month, and with the thought came the memory of the actual day their death occurred. The warehouse had gone nearly silent, the heater's humming seeming more like a loud, annoying buzz now, and Jenna knew Isaac was waiting for an answer. She wouldn't give him one. She had _not _wanted their conversation to take a turn to this.

But when her eyes wandered to the left, through her stringy, black hair she could see Isaac looking at her, but not with the expression she had been anticipating. His eyebrows were raised slightly, and she was surprised to see his eyes weren't narrowed. Instead, they remained holding their normal shape, and the pure, morphed expression of concern and curiosity was unmissable. Jenna quickly glanced away. It was clear to her now that Isaac had only meant this as a casual question, and suddenly she didn't want to leave his curiosity at bay. She had wanted to talk to him, and if she was being honest, by this point Isaac was the only person in the world right now she could get verbal with. She would answer his question, quickly, then change the subject.

"Yes," she replied as she nodded slowly and easily. "It is."

Isaac's frown deepened when a new question crossed his mind. It was territory he had tried to cross many times, only to be shot down with curt answers. But the conversation had already naturally ended up here, just like he had started to want a few nights before. Jenna was calm, and had already experienced so many other emotions already. They had _finally _held a real conversation, and already progress was starting to be made. Now seemed like the best time to try and reach a hold of Jenna's thoughts and feelings, locked away deep, deep inside her.

"Can I ask you something?" Isaac asked gently a moment later, the light tone of his voice causing Jenna to glance at him and stare into his eyes. "Without you shutting me out?"

"Isaac..." Jenna began to turn away, but she paused when she heard Isaac lean in closer to her.

"Seriously," he went on. "Can I?"

"You can _ask_," Jenna mumbled gently as she struggled to avoid his eyes. She could practically feel Isaac shaking his head next to her.

"No, I want an answer, too. A _real _one." He waited as he stared at the side of her face, but when she grew entirely quiet, he sighed. "Please, Jenna?"

The concern in his voice was heavy and easy to ignore suddenly, but what caught Jenna's attention was how rather desperate he sounded. He was desperate for answers from her, desperate to _understand _her lately, and this not only caused stress for Jenna, but hurt as well. Swallowing, she closed her eyes.

"Okay."

"How come you felt more pain from a _dream _than you did actually watching your _parents _die?" His tone was soft and careful, and his question had been worded cautiously with simple words, but still, the words stung her as they escaped his mouth. Jenna kept her eyes closed as her dream began to play in her head, and she sat silently as she thought back to all the blood, the screams, the gunshots, how unmerciful Bane had been...

"I don't know..."

"Jenna," Isaac sighed as he titled his head to the side. "C'mon."

"I really don't," she went on, and Isaac couldn't help but to drop his gaze down to Jenna's shoes when he heard her faintly sniffle. He hadn't wanted to make her cry, but he wanted to understand why that dream had left her so severely broken. "It was just... so..."

"Real, I know. Was it because of your friend dying?" Isaac paused, waiting to see if she'd answer, but when she merely sniffled again, he started talking again. "Or something else?"

Strangely, a tiny part of her wanted to answer him suddenly, but she could feel her entire being holding herself back. Just the thought alone was causing her eyes to swell with tears, and even if she did try to answer, her voice would crackle and break, and her answer would make no sense. Isaac remained patient as he let Jenna take a minute to breathe, and once he heard her staggered breaths become slower and more even, he raised his eyes to look at the side of her face, hidden behind her hair.

"I just want to understand, Jenna," he started. "I want to help you. I mean, after you had that dream, that's when you seemed to get really bad. What about it made you so upset?"

"Bane." The word escaped past Jenna's mouth before she could stop it, and she squeezed her eyes shut even tighter due to the severity of how bad her voice had cracked when she spoke his name, the same feelings from two nights before flooding her body. Her lips trembled slightly as she opened and closed her mouth, both wanting to explain further, but also feeling strongly against it. Her struggle was evident to Isaac, but he remained patient.

"Tell me," he prompted softly. "Are you scared I'll tell him?"

Another sniffle broke through the silence of the garage. "No," Jenna said as she finally lifted her hand up to push away the tears from her cheeks. "It's just hard."

"I know," Isaac replied, and Jenna listened to Isaac move in the chair slightly before listening to what sounded like him shuffling around for something in his pocket. A short moment later, she couldn't help but to jump slightly when she felt Isaac gently tap her shoulder with the side of his dried, car-greased hand, and when she glanced over she saw he was holding out a cigarette to her. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips, but it wasn't strong enough to stretch them completely. She accepted the cigarette, and as soon as she placed it in between her lips Isaac was holding the flame from his lighter to the end of it. Jenna took a long, refreshing drag from it while Isaac tucked the lighter back in his pocket.

"I'm not gonna tell him," Isaac assured her anyway as he slouched down in the chair slightly, but he kept his body turned toward her. "And no one else is around to hear it. It'll stay between us."

His words were assuring, and Jenna found herself idly nodding as she took another drag, her eyes focused on the floor. She remembered the first time she had been in Isaac's room, and what he had told her when he had finished with her arm. _"I was always the soft guy, the guy who felt things differently and could relate to people. My grandma... she always said I had this awesome ability to put myself in other's shoes, and know what it was like for them, the hardships they faced. That never changed. Maybe it was masked, qualities like that don't earn you the respect you need here, but after a while Bane accepted that about me, when he learned I could shut that part of me off." _

It was clear to Jenna that Isaac usually had this quality shut off, but as for right now, she realized he had it turned on, just for her. He was ready to help her, talk to her, understand her point, and not shoot any of her pain down. It was sheer _luck _that such a person existed in Bane's nightmarish army, and perhaps it was luck that caused Jenna the fortune to be so close to him. All she had wanted was to forget about everything that had happened during that month. She wanted to leave it all behind, she wanted to forget about Bane and continue to ignore him, and she wanted to just move on. But it was starting to become evident that she'd be unable to do this until she talked about it with Isaac. Jenna took another long drag from her cigarette, struggling to shy away from this harsh reality.

"What about him scared you?" Isaac asked now, focusing her attention now, and he was careful not to speak Bane's name, for he felt just the word alone was painful enough for Jenna.

"Just... the s-severity of what he did... and what he had you do."

"Which was...?" Isaac asked calmly.

"He made me kill Rodger." Jenna's lips quivered before the corners tugged down, and more tears swelled in her eyes. "He _forced _me to. He had you kill Rodger's parents... he... he..." Jenna shook her head as she closed her eyes. Next to her, Isaac's gaze had dropped down to the floor as he solemnly nodded. He had no desire to ask her anything else specific; Jenna had told him enough. In her dream, she had witnessed a serious, focused side of Isaac, ready to perform any order given to him, and a murderous, twisted side of Bane, who wanted to punish Jenna further by having her kill somebody she actually _did _care deeply about. He could understand why this would freak her out. She had never seen Isaac kill anybody, or become deeply merciless and tactical. She had never seen Bane so ruthless, although he knew Jenna understood it was in him. It was literally one of her worst fears that had seemingly come to life, and it couldn't have come to her at a worse time. Anyone else in Jenna's life who cared about her would have simply patted her shoulder and assured her it was a dream, but even though Isaac was a man of sincerity and understanding, he was also man of logic and truth.

"I get it," he said finally as Jenna took another hit from her cigarette. "The dream seemed so real to you because it's something that you were anticipating to happen, and something you knew _could_ happen. Honestly? It could–"

Jenna's eyes had opened, but as soon as Isaac said this they immediately closed tightly.

"–But it won't," Isaac quickly assured. "Jenna, you won't allow yourself to see what's in front of you and interpret the facts. All Bane could stand to do was lock you in your room as a means of punishment, and from there all he did was avoid you. I've told you before; I've seen men face gruesome deaths for mere white lies. Isn't it obvious to you yet that he doesn't want that same fate for you? Killing you, forcing _you _to kill someone else... it's past him. It's been past him for so long that he won't do it now."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed tightly, and she forced her eyes open before she turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Did he say that?" She asked, confusion laced throughout her voice and imprinted on her expression.

"No," Isaac said. "But I mean, it's obvious. Bane is man of quick, rational action. If a thought crosses his mind, he'll consider it, and if he likes it, he'll perform it. He doesn't procrastinate or prolong things longer than necessary. Like I've told you, if he wanted to kill you, he would have. If he wanted to punish and hurt you further, he would have done _much _more than lock you in a room for a month. If he wanted you to kill Rodger, it would have been one of the first things he would have done."

Jenna nodded slightly. "Then why did he break my arm?"

Isaac shrugged. "Even the most patient, rational men get surges of hot anger. But after, he wanted you to receive help, you know," Isaac added a long moment later. His words caused a doubtful breath of laughter to escape from Jenna.

"Yeah fucking right," she replied. "Why would you even say tha-"

"It's true," Isaac interrupted, his tone slightly more stern. "Jenna why do you think I knew to go help you? Hell, why do you think I even _did_? He told me to." He watched Jenna immediately begin to shake her head in denial. "Think about it. If he didn't, then why would he want you to receive help, or a cast to _ensure _it healed properly?"

Jenna had stopped shaking her head, but she couldn't bring herself to believe him. She hated where this conversation had gone, and now she was ready to be through with it. She wished she had never answered Isaac's question. "Just forget it," Jenna said now. "Please," she added in a more serene tone when she realized how fiery her words had sounded. "This is why I didn't want to talk about any of this."

Isaac's mouth opened in protest, but he immediately stopped himself before he could speak. _Let it be_, he told himself. He had _finally _obtained answers from Jenna, and some sort of understanding. Now, the real help could begin. Now, he had a gateway into more conversation about it all. If Jenna wanted to be through with talking for now, then he would allow it.

"Alright, alright," he said now as Jenna took a drag from her cigarette, and he looked away from her. "I'm sorry, we'll stop."

Jenna frowned before she turned to look at him, and she couldn't tell if she had upset him or not. "Are you mad?" She asked quietly.

"Mad?" Isaac repeated as he glanced back at her with a small grin. "Why would I be mad?"

Jenna glanced down slightly. "I don't know," she replied. "I think I had more of a tone than I meant to."

Isaac stared at her blankly for a moment, trying to fathom her words. Jenna's tone hadn't been terribly strong with quick hostility, but what had him slightly confused was the fact that she hadn't _wanted _to sound like that? "No, no, it's fine," he said now. "Honestly it's nice to hear you have any type of tone. Your voice every other time is always empty..."

Jenna glanced away now, unsure of how to respond. Her heart was racing, her head was spinning, and while she still wished she had never answered his question, she was just relieved that Isaac was dropping the issue easily. Her lips quivered for a moment before she took a final drag from her cigarette, and as she deeply inhaled, she let the cigarette fall to the floor. Isaac had watched her do this, his mind still running rapid with the thoughts he wanted to express, but he forced himself to hold them back. He had gotten further with Jenna than he had the entire week, and he knew it would be a smart idea to just accept this, and close down the topic for the night.

"You about ready to go in?" He asked her now as she exhaled. "It's almost eleven."

Jenna nodded slowly. "Yeah," she finally replied, standing in unison with Isaac. She turned and started past the chairs, stopping a few feet away from them as she waited for Isaac to shut off the space heater and follow her. Once he began in her direction, she turned again, keeping her left arm hugged around herself due to the new-found cold, and after she pushed open the garage door to step into the warmer warehouse, Isaac snapped off the lights inside the garage before stepping into the warehouse next to Jenna. As he closed the door he glanced at her, and he gave her a quick nod with a small smile before he began away down the hall. Jenna watched him go for a moment before she turned, their conversation echoing in her head, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't know what to think of it. So Isaac had finally made her open up about something; now that she had, did she feel better? Relieved? Or just more upset?

Perhaps it had felt good to verbally express one of the things that had been terrorizing her, and get it off her chest, but she hadn't liked where the conversation had turned. Of course it would have been related back to Bane, why wouldn't it be? He was the root cause for everything Jenna felt around the warehouse, or anywhere now, for that matter. It had felt good talking to Isaac, but what caused the relieved feelings to break away was the topic of Bane. He regretted breaking her arm? Jenna never doubted anything more in her life. Bane _wanted _her to get help? Jenna shook her head now once she reached the bottom of the stairs. She knew Isaac was being truthful, but still, Jenna could not accept the things he had been saying about Bane.

Once she snapped on the light to her room, she immediately let out a breath of annoyance at the sight of her clothes everywhere, some in folded piles, others tossed carelessly onto the floor all around. The image of her dirty clothes strewn everywhere only caused her to think about herself, and how rather dirty she felt. She shrugged off her coat and let it fall into the floor, and with a frown she lifted her left arm to stare at it. Her eyes narrowed in disgust as they stared at the hair that covered the surface, and with a sigh she let it drop at her side, knowing very well that the rest of the hair on her body was even worse; she could feel it. She cursed to herself after she glanced down at her cast. Her irritating, broken arm kept her from taking an actual shower, and she was starting to get sick of it. Her hair was huge, tangled, and dirty, and her body was being suffocated with unwanted body hair. But as Jenna plopped down onto her cot, a new thought occurred to her. Perhaps Isaac could help her...

Since they were being friendly again, this gave Jenna the opportunity to ask if she could use his shower. Perhaps he'd even have good news about her cast, and could help to find a way to allow her to shower fully. The hopeful thoughts were enough for Jenna to take out her toiletry bag and immediately turn to exit her room.

She moved through the hall quickly, and once she reached the ladder, she placed the small handles of her toiletry bag in between her teeth, and she bit down on them as she started up the ladder. Once she reached the top, she took hold of the bag in her hand again, and she didn't hesitate before knocking quietly on Isaac's door. She could hear the TV in the thug's space diagonally from her, and she could feel some of their eyes on her back, staring at her, but she didn't care. She was sick of feeling dirty, she was sick of the embarrassing hair that covered her body, and even more so she was sick of her face, bare of makeup, greasy skin, red eyes, and chapped lips...

After a long moment passed, and just when she gave up hope of Isaac even answering, the handle of the door jiggled a bit before the door was eased open, and Jenna instantly glanced up at Isaac's face.

"Can I use your shower?" She asked him. "I'll be quick, I promise."

Isaac couldn't help the small grin that spread onto his lips after his eyes had dropped down to her toiletry bag. "Yeah," he said as he took a step back, his eyes meeting hers again. "Take your time," he added. Jenna smiled slightly as well, and after she dropped her eyes from his own, she stepped into the room past him.

"Thank you," she mumbled sincerely, a warm relieved feeling spreading throughout her body as she started toward his bathroom. Isaac closed and locked his door, but as soon as he turned around, his eyes immediately found Jenna's right upper arm, just above her cast, and his eyes widened slightly as he took a large step to catch up with her.

"Whoa, whoa, wait," he said, his words causing Jenna to slowly stop her stride, and she hesitantly turned just when Isaac caught up to her. Her lips parted, preparing her to ask him what was wrong, but before she could ask, Isaac was already placing his hand on her shoulder to turn her around while reaching out to grab her bag. He tossed the bag onto the bed, and once he had Jenna turned so he could see her arm, she watched the bag land on his bed before she turned to look at Isaac from over her shoulder. His eyes were focused on her arm, and the flat, serious expression on his face instantly caused Jenna to begin worrying.

"What?" she asked him in a slightly louder tone.

"Your arm," he said, his eyes wandering over the dark-toned skin and protruding veins that covered the surface of it. Jenna was just about to ask him what was wrong with it, but before she could speak again Isaac beat her to it. "Have you been sleeping on it?" Jenna frowned as Isaac started to take the sling off of her, and she watched the sling fly slowly through the air before it landed next to her bag on his bed. How did he know?

"Uh, yeah," she replied, her eyebrows furrowing as Isaac gently pushed her into his bathroom. She squinted her eyes when he turned on the bright lights, and when she glanced at him through the mirror, which she was now facing full-on, she watched Isaac's eyes wander over it again. "I try not to," she quickly went on. "but-"

Isaac was shaking his head. "You're weakening the circulation in your arm," he informed, and Jenna flinched when he squeezed his fingers around the highest point of her arm, just beneath her shoulder. "Look." He gently turned her around so Jenna could glance at her arm's reflection in the mirror, but once she had, she immediately wished he hadn't. Her dark eyebrows raised as she took in the site of the overall, darkened color and obvious veins that ran down her arm, and she felt a dizzy spell wash over her. That definitely didn't look good.

It was at the tip of his tongue to mildly scold Jenna for not bothering to inform him, or anyone, about the poor condition of her healing arm, but as soon as this desire rose, he held back the words. In the beginning, Jenna couldn't have informed anyone, and he couldn't be angry at her lack of knowledge on broken limbs. It was the first broken body part she had experienced, he assumed, and he knew that Jenna more than likely thought it was part of the healing process. The further he thought about it, however, he wondered if Jenna had even noticed it. Due to her broken and unobservant state, he figured she hadn't. But Isaac couldn't blame himself either. After not seeing Jenna for over a month, he only ever saw her arms hidden in the sleeves of her coat.

"Ew," Jenna couldn't help but to mumble, and as soon as she tore her eyes away, Isaac was turning her again. Her jaw dropped slightly, preparing her to speak, but before she could she flinched when Isaac ran his clutched fingers down the length of her upper arm. Her eyes widened again as she sucked in a sharp breath of pain, and when he did it a second time, she couldn't stop herself from speaking.

"What are you doing?" She asked, the pain in her tone obvious.

"Helping to get the circulation back. Fortunately this isn't too severe, but you gotta stop sleeping on this."

"I'm sorry," Jenna said now as she stared at the white, tiled floor. "It's the cot, you know? It's small."

"I know, but you gotta stop. If you do it any longer the circulation will stop completely."

"What happens if it stops?" Jenna asked, glancing at him from over her shoulder again. She flinched when Isaac ran his fingers down her arm again, pushing and forcing the blood flow back into her forearm, but he never answered her.

"While we're here," he said instead, "what else has been going on with it?"

Jenna glanced down in thought. "It hurts, even if I barely move it. It's itchy as hell lately."

Isaac was nodding. "It's because you can't wash it," he informed, moving his fingers down her arm one final time. "When we change the cast we'll clean it. It'll help."

_Change the cast? _Jenna wondered. "When will that be?" She asked, finding herself suddenly desperate to be rid of her current bulky and heavy cast.

"In about another month," Isaac said as his hand now took a gentle hold of the cast. "Keep your arm bent," he said to her now. Jenna listened, waiting to see what he would do, but as soon as he began to raise her upper arm, Jenna immediately pulled back, and struggled against him for a second before he finally let go of her.

"No," she said as she began to turn, her eyes still focused on the floor. There was no _way _she was going to let Isaac raise her arm when she hadn't been able to shave in over a _month_.

"Jenna I need to examine it, make sure there's no other damage. C'mere."

"Can you do it after I shower?" She asked him now as she raised her eyes to look into his, which seemed to be glowing brightly in the light, ad she moved to place her left arm behind her. "Please?" She added.

"I don't care about that," Isaac said now as he took a step closer to her, well aware of what she was talking about. But he let out a sigh when Jenna took a step back.

"Seriously," she added now. She would rather have her arm cut off at the elbow before she allowed _anyone's _eyes to wander over the current state of her armpit. Isaac instantly picked up on the sternness her tone carried as well as the stern look in her eyes, and he let out a sigh as a grin spread onto his lips.

"Fine," he said now. He took a step back, but before he could turn, Jenna instantly frowned.

"Are you mad?" Her lips parted when Isaac let out a short laugh as he turned to glance at her again.

"No, Jenna, I'm not mad," he assured, slight humor in his voice. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

Jenna glanced down. "I don't know," she replied. She did know, though. She feared that her new-found tones would annoy Isaac, and ultimately cause him to abandon her again. But while Jenna worried about her tones, Isaac found them relieving.

"Yes you do," he said, able to read Jenna's current expression like a book. But he dropped the issue. "Take your shower _then _I'll look at it." He began to turn again, but before he could leave the room, Jenna took a small step closer to him.

"Isaac?" she asked, and as soon as he turned to face her yet again, she quickly went on. "Is there any way I can actually get _in _the shower? With this," she added as she lifted her right arm slightly. Isaac's eyes dropped down to the cast for a short moment before he lifted his eyes to look back into hers. Without a word he suddenly turned to leave the bathroom, and Jenna stood still and waited silently for him to come back.

She listened as he opened a drawer from somewhere in his bedroom, and after she listened to him rummage around for a moment, she heard the ruffling from a plastic bag. He appeared outside of the door, and after he picked up her bag from his bed he stepped back into the bathroom and set the bag onto the closed toilet seat. Jenna eyed the plastic bag and roll of black electrical tape in his hand, and she watched him place the tape on the counter by the sink before he gently ripped apart the bottom of the plastic bag to form a small hole. When he turned and stepped toward her, Jenna held out her arm as much as she could to him, and watched as he slid the bag onto her arm and over the cast, the small hole at the bottom allowing her to use her hand, which Isaac figured would help her out while showering. He wrapped the bag tightly around her cast before he glanced up to her.

"Hold this," he said, Jenna's hand immediately replacing his on her arm, and she watched Isaac tear off a long piece of the tape with his teeth before he began to wrap it around the bag and her skin on either end, creating a seal that the water would be unable to seep through. When he was finished a moment later, he took a step back and flashed her a small grin. "There ya go."

Jenna smiled slightly, already growing somewhat annoyed at the swooshing sound from the bag, but she ignored this, feeling more appreciative than anything. "Thank you," she said just before he could close the door, and once he did, she immediately pulled back the shower curtain and started the water.

After she took out her razor from her bag, she set it on the edge of the tub before she removed her clothes, and after she set them in a wrinkled pile near the door, she stepped into the shower, unable to help but let out a sigh as the hot water ran over her body.

She ignored the amplified pattering noise from the bag as the water ran onto it, and instead she closed her eyes after closing the curtain, allowing herself to take a moment and enjoy the simplicity of just standing under a shower faucet for the first time in what seemed like ages. Steam swelled within the shower and escaped over the curtain to fog up the mirror, but Jenna kept her eyes closed as she tilted her head back, letting the water pound down on her scalp and travel down her barely manageable hair. She had once carried the full intentions of showering quickly when she first asked Isaac, but now that he had told her take her time, Jenna was going to do just that.

After she stood motionless in the direct line of hot water for another few, long and soothing moments, she finally opened her eyes and tilted her head forward again, welcoming the water that ran down her face. Once she caught sight of her hair-ridden body, she grimaced, and knowing she could not prolong the moment any longer, she immediately reached down to take hold of her razor.

Shaving her entire body had been an absolute chore, to say the least, and by the time she was finished, her water was already running cold. But regardless, she was forced to take her time with it, and after she would slowly soap up her desired body part, moving Isaac's soap bar slowly over her skin with her left hand, she moved even slower with the razor, making sure to remove every morsel of hair. She shaved her left arm first, making sure not to move or lift her right arm more than necessary, and once this was finished she moved on to her legs, saving her most troubling spots for last.

Nearly forty minutes had passed by the time she finished shaving. The water had turned cold, but Jenna ignored this, and instead found herself welcoming the cold water as she took her time with lathering up her hair with more than enough shampoo. After she rinsed, she took the soap bar one last time, and after she lathered up her left hand, she turned to face the water, closed her eyes, and moved her hand vigorously over her face. During her month of solitude, Jenna had struggled to wash her face as best as she could, but now that she could rub the soap directly onto her face and rinse it completely from under the water, the moment she started washing it she could already feel how much cleaner she would feel. By the time she turned off the faucet, stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack above the toilet, physically Jenna found herself feeling better than she had in a long, long time. She could feel how smooth and clean her hairless body was, and she couldn't stop herself from wiping away a small circle of steam from the mirror after she wrapped her body in a towel to glance at her reflection. The skin on her face seemed to have a small sort of glow to it, but as Jenna stared at herself, all she could see was the red around her eyes and the nearly permanent frown on her chapped lips. She leaned over to take out her toothbrush from her bag, and after she ran it under the water from the sink, she gently ran the bristles over her plump lips. It was a trick her mother had taught her to help ease away chapped lips, and by the time Jenna had gotten out her chap-stick from her bag, applied some to her lips, and ran her bottom lip against her upper, she could feel the difference already. Inspired by this, she decided that tomorrow she would try wearing some makeup again.

The steam and overall warmth of the bathroom kept Jenna's mind calm and at at ease as she ignored the dripping from her hair, and after she put her toothbrush and razor away, she stepped toward the bathroom door to open it, ready for Isaac to finish looking over her arm now that she was clean and shaven.

When she opened the door, she found Isaac laying in his bed, his covers pulled up to his waist, a plain black t-shirt covering his torso. He had his arm bent at the elbow, and he rested his head on his forearm as he started blankly at the TV, the volume low, the blue light flickering over his face and room. "Isaac," she spoke, and she waited until he glanced over at her. "You can come look now, if you want."

She stepped back from the door as Isaac got out of his bed, and she saw he had changed into a pair of dark gray sweat pants. He shuffled his feet against the floor as he crossed his room to the bathroom, and Jenna fixed her towel and clutched it with her left hand once he approached her. His eyes were half-lidded and glazed, more so than usual, and Jenna decided that as soon as he was done she would immediately leave and let him sleep. Before he took a hold of her arm, he turned to open the medicine cabinet on the wall next to the door, and after he took out a small pair of medical scissors, he turned back to Jenna and began to cut off the tape wrapped around her arm. He piled the cut tape and wet bag into the sink, he stepped back slightly before turning Jenna to face the mirror. His eyes quickly found her upper arm, and though the veins weren't raised as much, they were still very noticeable, and after he gripped her arm and pushed the blood downward again, Jenna flinching all the while, he finally took a gentle hold of the cast and began to raise her arm, unable to help but grin when Jenna actually allowed him to this time.

As Jenna watched him through the mirror, the fog fading fast from it, she was entirely unsure of what Isaac was looking for or checking, but a moment later, after he ran his hand over her cast and eyed every inch of her arm, he gently lowered it before he raised his eyes to look at her through the mirror. He paused before he could speak, however, and he took a second to take in her appearance. After just one, full shower, her skin appeared as soft as it probably felt, and it seemed as though the red around her eyes had faded severely, the aqua blue color of her iris' more stunning than they had been in a while. He hadn't realized Jenna had been staring at him the entire time, and once he noticed he cleared his throat slightly.

"Your arm should be fine," he informed. "Just try not to sleep on it anymore." Jenna watched him let out a large yawn as he took a step back from her, and she turned to face him before she spoke.

"I will," she said. "Thank you."

"No problem," Isaac said sleepily in a voice just above a whisper. His exhausted state caused Jenna to smile slightly, and she quickly turned to grab her bag and clothes.

"Goodnight," she said before she started out of the bathroom door. Isaac didn't reply, and instead he shut the light off behind her before starting to his bed while Jenna headed to the bedroom door. As she descended the ladder now, she realized she had forgotten her sling in Isaac's room, but she disregarded this thought, for as soon as she started toward the basement stairs she began to worry about seeing Bane.

It was almost as if he knew when Jenna was dreading seeing him the most, and he never failed to be doing something eye-catching when these times occurred. When she stepped onto the cold floor of the basement, she immediately noticed the line of light on the floor, and she couldn't help but to allow her eyes to follow the trail to Bane's wide open door, where she found him to be doing push-ups inside, his shirtless frame facing away from her. A potent shock ran not only up her spine, but throughout her body as well, as she watched his muscles flex each time he lowered his body to the ground. When the shock found its way to her head, the dizzy feeling instantly caused her to snap out of her daze, and she tore her eyes away from him as she started toward her room, hoping he would not notice she had returned downstairs.

Once she was inside her room, his previous words to her immediately began to play over and over in her mind.

_ "You gonna go terrorize her, too?"_ Jenna had asked upon receiving news of the newest and most desired arrival in Gotham.

_"No,"_ Bane had replied. _"You are more than enough, Jenna."_

What did that _mean_? And why had Bane even said that? Whether Jenna wanted to know or not, she did not want to ask him, and instead she continued to hope Bane would just leave her alone.

After she got dressed, deciding that she would have to ask Isaac about laundry finally tomorrow, she discarded her towel on the floor and immediately got into her cot, hoping she would warm up fast. Bare of her sling, Jenna kept her arm stationary under her chest, and she let out a sigh as she rested comfortably on her back, hoping in the back of her mind that she could find a way to keep the pressure from her body off of her arm.

**Hopefully this long chapter makes up for the long wait between updates (as always, blame my damn college). Please leave me your thoughts in the form of a review! :D (And don't forget to add me on Facebook! Lacey ClownQween Michele) As always, a huge thank you to **** __**** Loretta Lolita** for all your help!  



	21. Can't Stop, Should Stop

Miraculously, Jenna caught herself each time she was about to roll over onto her right side that night. In the morning she questioned it, but with further thought she figured it was because she now knew the complications that could arise by cutting off the circulation to the rest of her arm. The thought was frightening –she already hated her broken arm anyway– and she couldn't imagine having to deal with it longer than was necessary. Even when she took a nap later that afternoon she woke up laying completely on her left side.

Jenna hadn't seen Isaac much that day. She only ventured to the garage to smoke a few times, but even when she was up there, Isaac was busy working on the car again. He had halted his actions for a minute to help her put her sling back on, but once this was finished he immediately returned to lay underneath the car. But Jenna didn't mind the lack of conversation. After their previous conversation in the garage, she welcomed the silence, and she sat quietly as she watched him work. When her stomach began to growl wildly later in the day, she stopped by the fridge upstairs, hoping she could find something filling to eat, but as luck would have it, the fridge was empty, the cabinets were bare, and she was forced to eat the last banana on the counter that had already started to brown slightly. As a way to escape her hunger, she took her time with applying some make-up in the bathroom, lining her eyes with black eyeliner and applying dark eyeshadow to her lids, and after she had done this, she napped. But when she awoke near five that evening, she knew she could not escape her hunger much longer.

Unable to abandon the thought of hopefully accompanying Isaac to the diner, she put on her coat and boots before she left her room to start up the stairs. The sun was setting behind the snow-covered horizon, and when her eyes found the garage she saw Isaac was leaning on the hood of the Challenger, a cigarette dangling between his lips, as usual. When he saw her approaching, he kept his eyes focused on her, and once she had reached him he began to reach into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes.

"Hey, are you busy?" Jenna asked him, her question catching him off guard. He took his bare hand out of his coat pocket as he glanced up at her.

"Not anymore," he replied. "Why?"

"Do you think we could go get something to eat?"

"At the diner?"

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, if that's okay," she went on. "I'm starving."

Isaac grinned. "Are you _allowed _to?" His tone was slightly humorous, but Jenna knew this to be a legitimate, dire question.

"I think so," she replied, honestly unsure. She thought she could recall Bane mentioning she could only stay on the warehouse property, but the starving state of her being was trying to convince her this had never been said. After taking one last drag, Isaac tossed the cigarette into the snow.

"You'd better find out," he replied as he leaned off the hood before starting to turn around. Jenna was frowning as she stared at him. Images of Bane the night before instantly flashed in her mind, and she found herself almost completely unwilling to talk to him.

"...can you go ask?" She asked in that quiet voice, her tone catching Isaac's attention again. When he turned and glanced down at her, he saw she had bowed her head slightly while her eyes were focused on the ground.

"You go do it," Isaac told her, and when Jenna raised her slightly widened eyes back up to him, her lips already parting to protest, he went on. "I can't be your go-between. _You _need to face him, Jenna."

"But-"

"-what good is it if I start talking to him for you?" He interrupted. "You can't avoid him forever. Just go ask him."

When Jenna's frown grew larger, Isaac grinned at her. "Go ask, and I'll be waiting in the truck."

"What if he says no?"

Isaac merely shrugged. "I can still go." His grin widened, and Jenna couldn't hold herself back from rolling her eyes at him before she finally turned to head back into the warehouse.

During her descent down the stairs, she hoped that Bane's door would be open, or that he would already be outside of his room. But just as she had been expecting, his door was closed, and when she reached the bottom of the stairs she let out a short sigh, already starting to feel anxious. She could not escape the menacing shirtless images of him, or the way his muscles had flexed so sternly with each push-up, but even more so, thoughts reflecting back to all that he had done to her began to take over. She was still entirely sure of the fact that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but when her stomach let out a loud growl when she approached his door, she struggled to fight through her hesitation for a moment before she finally raised her closed fist to the door to leave two, gentle knocks on it.

The door seemed to open immediately after she had lowered her hand, and she was greeted with the sight of Bane's giant and looming figure standing over her, clad in a pair of gray cargo pants, a dark gray, zipped leather jacket, and his brown leather armband. Her eyes wandered quickly up his body, and when she found his masked face, she saw his eyes were glaring directly down at her. She waited for Bane to speak, but after an awkward moment of silence had passed, Jenna cleared her throat.

"Can I go... to the diner? With Isaac," she quickly added, reverting her eyes away from his. Bane wasn't staring at her angrily, but rather with some sort of other, foreign expression. Either way, Jenna did not want to look at him. Just his presence standing not even two feet from her was enough to weigh her down completely. But even though Jenna had looked away, Bane kept his eyes focused on her.

Although her clothes were ratty and the expression on her bowed face was still hopeless and blank, Bane had taken an immediate notice to her body's rather refreshed state the moment he opened the door, and it had honestly caught him off guard. The red around her eyes had faded severely and was now masked with make-up, her chapped lips appeared to have healed rather quickly, and her skin and hair looked as clean and soft as ever. Finally, Bane forced himself to blink, and he straightened his posture as he prepared to answer her question, only to pause as soon as his lips parted. He had literally just been on his way to go find Isaac upstairs and let him know they would be leaving in an hour's time, but for some terrible reason, he found he was starting to change his mind. _There's bound to be _some _food upstairs. She'll be fine. You have plans to attend to. _Along with this, Bane had told Jenna she must stay at the warehouse, even after her new-found freedom. When he had told this he had meant it... but then again he had meant it when he forbid her and Isaac from talking. That had backfired.

Jenna was still looking away from him, and Bane watched her shut her eyes tightly when her stomach gave off a loud grumble. _Why say no_? He questioned himself now. _What good will that do?It looks like she hasn't eaten anything substantial in years. _Bane sighed, unable to believe he was going back on his word yet _again, _and even worse this time, changing his rather serious plans. "Yes," he replied. "And you can tell Barsad I will no longer be requiring his assistance tonight... after all," he added, purposely making it sound as though it was something he had already been considering, prior to Jenna's question.

Jenna raised her head to glance up at him at now, her stomach dropping due to his surprising answer. "Assistance with what?" The question flew past her mouth, and as soon as she realized what she had said, she quickly reverted her gaze away from him again.

Bane's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he stared at her, but a second later he glanced up as he fixed the large collars of his coat. "We are expecting a guest," he told her in a lighter, louder tone. "All the necessary arrangements can be done without him."

Jenna glanced up to him again, suddenly unable to hold back her curiosity. "Who?" She asked in a small voice, and she practically flinched when Bane quickly glanced back down to her, surprised with her verbosity. Her eyes were slightly widened, her curiosity that she was struggling to hide shining, but judging by the way her eyebrows furrowed, the way her lips parted slightly, and how stationary and still her body had become as she anticipated his answer, Bane could easily guess what was on her mind. He grinned, Jenna instantly picking up on those wrinkles, and she took in a small breath.

"It is not who you're thinking," he assured, watching as Jenna's eyebrows met closer as she continued to stare into his eyes. "The model?" He went on, and his grin expanded when Jenna glanced down slightly, tearing her eyes away from his, her actions only confirming his suspicions. "No, no... it's someone much more... _valuable _than her." Bane waited for Jenna look back up at him, and when she did, he went on, answering Jenna's question before she could ask it. "The mayor."

Jenna's eyes widened, and she forced herself to tighten her lips before she confirmed. "The mayor?" The last thing she had wanted to was to have any sort of conversation with Bane, but her curiosity had overcome her, and to be honest, the fact that Bane was planning on kidnapping the mayor was rather alarming.

Bane's grin faded, and he nodded seriously as Jenna mumbled out her next question: _why? _"For reasons that I don't have time to answer right now. Go eat," he commanded instead. Jenna listened to him quickly and turned around to start over the stairs, discovering that she really didn't want to know why Bane was taking the mayor. Chances were, his responses would only make her feel sick.

"Oh, and Jenna," Bane called to her suddenly, waiting until she stopped and turned to look at him. "Consume something other than _pancakes, _please. Order something a little more substantial."

Jenna's eyes narrowed –what an odd request– but she didn't offer him an answer, and instead turned to head up the stairs. _I'll order whatever I want_, she thought to herself.

When she stepped back outside, she saw Isaac through the window of his truck, waiting for her in the running vehicle in front of the garage, and without a second thought she began to trudge through the snow. The clouds above teamed with the freezing temperature, threatening snow, but this didn't bother Jenna. She knew she would be able to stay primarily inside warmer buildings, and found that she was thankful Isaac wasn't making her drive. She figured Isaac wasn't the type of cruel man to make her drive with hand, and she assumed the Challenger wouldn't do good in the snow that already covered the ground, anyway.

When Jenna opened the passenger side door and began to climb in, she saw Isaac was messing around with the radio, trying to find a station, until he gave up easily and pressed a button with his thumb to turn off the radio. A short second later a CD began to play, and once Jenna had settled into her seat and closed her door, Isaac put the truck in reverse and began to back away from the garage before he corrected the wheel and began off of the property.

"We can't stay there long," he began. "I gotta be back by-"

"Bane said he didn't need your help anymore," Jenna relayed Bane's message, and when Isaac glanced over at her she turned her head to look at him.

"Oh," Isaac said now, having no urge to ask her why. She more than likely didn't even know. "Alright then, cool."

Jenna wanted to ask Isaac what Bane needed his help with, though she was sure she knew. Even more so, suddenly, she wanted to ask Isaac why Bane was taking the mayor, but she figured Isaac would not fill her in any more than Bane had.

The drive to the diner took a lot shorter than Jenna had expected. The roads were nothing but sheets of ice blanketed by the snow, these roads more than likely the worst in the city since nobody ever traveled on them, but Isaac's truck drove along them easily. Snow flakes began to fall from the sky and gather on the wind shield, and by the time Jenna saw the diner's lights ahead, the snow grew thicker, until it was pouring down heavily. Jenna was frowning, already anticipating the torturous, frigid walk to the doors of the diner from the parking lot, but when she glanced at Isaac she saw he appeared to be feeling quite content. He kept one hand on the steering wheel, his other hand resting comfortably in his lap, and though his eyes were sunken back as always, they appeared bright, and awake.

"Do you like the snow?" Jenna asked him. Isaac attempted to hide his surprise once her question left her mouth, but when he glanced into Jenna's eyes, he couldn't help the grin that spread onto his lips. Perhaps he really was helping Jenna after all...

"I love it," he replied as he faced forward again, that crooked grin never leaving his lips. "I grew up in it. I actually hate any other weather."

"You don't like summer?" Jenna asked him now. Isaac could sense Jenna's true curiosity, and he welcomed it, pleased to notice her voice carried new tones and that her mind was starting to work again.

"Nah," he replied, shaking his head slightly as he pulled into a parking space directly at the side of the restaurant. "Too hot. Do you like summer?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied as she leaned forward, preparing herself to venture into the snow. "I mean I don't mind winter, but I like warmer temperatures."

"I could have guessed," Isaac replied, amused, but just before he could open his door, he paused and turned back to Jenna, who had just placed her hand on the handle. "When we get in there, just keep your head down. You were all over the news last week and though I doubt it, someone _might _recognize you in here." Jenna nodded, and without another word Isaac opened his door and easily stepped down into the snow. Jenna struggled to follow his actions, but as soon as she was out of the truck, she immediately began to shiver.

She moved quickly through the snow, following Isaac to the door that he held open for her, and as soon as she stepped past him and inside she let out a sigh, appreciating the warm temperature in the building more than she had anticipated. The usual 'Please seat yourself' sign was located front and center, and she did not need to follow Isaac to know where to go. Keeping her head down all the while, she slid into their usual booth, Isaac sitting down opposite of her, and she wasted no time with grabbing the menu on the table and opening it. She was greeted with a large, appetizing picture of pancakes, but she found herself turning the page quickly, Bane's words suddenly repeating in her head._ "Consume something other than pancakes, please. Order something a little more substantial." Like what? _Jenna wondered.

Isaac sat silently on the opposite of her, watching Jenna turn through the pages of the menu as she tried to decide on what to get. After a moment or so of watching Jenna read the items on the page, he spoke up.

"No pancakes?"

"Not tonight," Jenna replied, never moving her eyes from the page.

"Why not?"

Jenna shrugged. She was not about to tell him what Bane said. She couldn't even believe she was finding herself obeying his orders in the first place. But Jenna could recall always being hungry not even an hour after she ate the pancakes at the restaurant; she would order something else for herself, and _only _for herself.

The two sat in silence until after the waitress came along, and after Isaac ordered for the both of them, Jenna keeping her head turned away from the waitress while he did so, he attempted to bring up another conversation.

"So what did you and your folks usually do around Christmas?" Isaac asked after he crossed his arms on top of the table and leaned over them while Jenna began to take off her coat. His question completely struck Jenna as odd and out of place, but he watched her eyes widen slightly when she remembered suddenly that it was Christmas Eve. Isaac grinned as he watched the realization hit her face.

"Parties and stuff," Jenna replied passively as she set her coat down next to her on the seat before glancing back up at Isaac. "Christmas Eve was always spent with a ton of stupid people I didn't know."

"What about Christmas day?" Isaac wondered.

"Same thing. Presents in the morning. More people over later. I've never liked Christmas." Jenna rolled her eyes while Isaac's grin expanded. "What about you?" She asked a moment later, only because she knew it was something she should have the courtesy to ask, but as soon as she remembered that Isaac had spent a while celebrating the holiday in Russia, she became genuinely interested.

"I stopped celebrating when I turned 20," he replied as he sat back, this time folding only his hands on the table. "But when I was younger, in Russia I just spent time with my grandparents."

"But what was different about it?" Jenna asked now, openly emitting her curiosity. Isaac noticed, and his grin expanded.

"About a year before we moved Christmas was still banned there," he went on as he glanced down to his hands. "So if you wanted to celebrate it, you had to do it in secret, you couldn't be public about it." When he looked up, he saw that Jenna was staring directly at him, and after a moment of staring back, he began to really notice how much the red that once lined her eyes had weakened, and how well the make-up she now wore hid what was left of the red.

"Why?" Jenna pressed on further, not only entirely interested suddenly, but also thankful this conversation was about as far away as they could go from the topic of Bane.

"Religious reasons," he replied.

"So what did you and your grandparents do?"

"Just spent time together, ate the traditional meal called _'Kutya'_."

Jenna couldn't help the grin that stretched across her lips when she heard Isaac's accent attached to this more than likely, Russian word. "Say that again," she commanded gently. Isaac stared at her for a moment, but once he understood the reason behind Jenna's request, he smiled.

"_Kutya_," he said again, the accent thick, and Jenna's grin expanded. Isaac watched this happen, finding himself captivated by the look on her face; he hadn't seen Jenna genuinely smile in a _long _time.

"What is that?"

"It's a type of porridge, with honey and poppy seeds and stuff like that," he explained. "When we moved to the US my grandparents kept up the same traditions, but in high school I lost interest."

Jenna was nodding, her smiling fading. "That's cool though. At least it was different and family oriented. I wouldn't have eaten that _k- kut...ya _stuff though."

Isaac's grin returned due to her struggle. "Kutya," he corrected, watching as that grin returned back onto Jenna's face.

"How do you say it?" She asked now, her tone serious, but when her grin widened ever so slightly, Isaac caught on, and he laughed as he leaned over the table again.

"You just wanna hear my accent," he accused, smiling when Jenna let out a small breath of laughter.

"It's cool," she replied. "I like it. Say something else in Russian."

With a partial smile on her lips, slightly widened eyes and raised eyebrows, Jenna's excitement was unmissable, and after Isaac stared at her for another short moment, he let out a small breath of laughter as he sat back again. He glanced down at his hands, trying to think of something he could tell her, and once he had an idea, he raised his eyes back to hers, taking a second to admire the color that was starting to come back to them.

"Ты выглядишь красиво," he spoke quietly.

Jenna's grin expanded, and she couldn't help but to lean over slightly. She had grown used to Isaac's features, his demeanor and his tones, but nothing had ever looked more natural to her than the way Isaac's lips moved as he spoke each Russian word. Speaking the words alone really made him _look _Russian, and though she was completely unsure why, she found herself enjoying each sound and intonation of the unfamiliar language. The words seemed to just _flow _from his lips.

"What does that mean?" She asked him now, deciding if she were to ask him to say it again it would be a little much. Isaac had been grinning slightly, but now it stared to fade, and the expression on his face became more serious.

"It means you look good... er– beautiful." His body forced him to correct himself and speak the true meaning of what he had said. He glanced down slightly when Jenna's grin faded, her lips parting slightly, and he glanced back up to her. "I mean that, Jenna."

Jenna forced a small smile onto her lips, but she could feel what was coming next.

"I mean you always have, but... I meant lately. After... everything."

Jenna was leaning back in her seat, her excitement fading and being replaced fast by a dizzy spell that repeated the same one-syllable word over and over again: _Bane, Bane, Bane, Bane_, her mind kept saying over and over. It just a matter of seconds now that Isaac would bring it up, and Jenna felt as though she'd be unable to handle it.

"Thank you," Jenna mumbled, hoping and praying Isaac would drop the conversation. He stared at her, watching her eyes drop from him to focus on the table, and he frowned. Why did Jenna always shut down and turn back into a shell whenever anything about that month was mentioned?

"Jenna, talk to me," Isaac said as he leaned forward now as he tilted his head to the side, his sleepy eyes still focused intently on hers. "I promise you, talking about it will help."

Jenna was shaking her head, wishing they could just return to the conversation they had previously been having. "It won't."

"It _will_," Isaac stressed. "Keeping it locked away will only force you to over think it, and never overcome it. Getting it in the open will help you to forget about it." He paused, waiting for a reply, but Jenna kept her eyes focused on the table, her lips sealed shut now. "You really don't feel better after telling me about that dream?"

Jenna let out a sigh from her nose, waiting to feel a harsh pain overcome her upon thinking back to the dream, but when a strong surge of this familiar pain never came, she realized she hadn't thought of her dream ever since she had told him about it. But she wasn't about to tell him this. It would only prove his theory true, and give him more initiative to get her to talk. But the only topic that would be left to talk about was the topic of Bane, and nothing but Bane specifically.

Just his name alone caused her stomach to clench tightly and refuse to let go. Although Jenna had known for a while, she felt like she was just realizing it now as her stomach clenched even tighter: Bane was the root cause of all her trouble lately. It all began and ended with him, and each time she was forced to see or talk to him, she felt as though it grew worse. Her feelings were mangled and confused; anger, hatred, fear, nervousness and disarray all swarmed her whenever she was in his presence. Just the thought of him alone brought back the unwanted memories of all that he had done to her. His true colors had shone, and upon witnessing this, it made Jenna feel even more disgusting about all that they had previously done.

She didn't want to talk about Bane, and she didn't wanted to think about him. It wouldn't help, she knew, it would only make it worse. What she craved was distraction. Distraction would blockade her thoughts and force her to focus on something else, and with Isaac, these distractions came naturally. Genuine smiles, real laughter, excitement rising from the pit of her stomach, this is what Jenna felt she needed to heal and forget. Why couldn't Isaac understand this?

Now, Jenna shook her head at his question. From the corner of his eye, Isaac noticed the grumpy waitress making her way over with their orders. He straightened up, preparing to remind Jenna to hide her face, but by the way her hair hung over, her face was already hidden behind it. He stared at her for another moment before he finally turned to accept the food from the waitress.

–

The two ate in silence. While Isaac struggled to keep his eyes off of Jenna and focus on his own thoughts as he ate his usual burger, Jenna found herself just picking at her main dish of green-bean casserole after she had eaten her salad. She struggled to focus on her and Isaac's previous conversation, but she was always interrupted with thoughts of Bane. She tried to focus on the Russian words, the accent, how Isaac had looked when he spoke them, but out of nowhere Bane would pop into her mind and each time this happened her insides would grow constricted. Nearly twenty minutes after they had received their food, Jenna gave up eating entirely, barely able to chew a single, tiny bite or let alone lift up her fork, and after she took a few sips from her glass of water, she pushed her plates away from herself. Isaac had finished eating a while ago, and he had sat silently, secretly watching Jenna just move her food around with her fork.

After leaving some money on the table, Isaac stood, waiting for Jenna to get up as well and put on her coat. But instead she just stood there, waiting to follow him, and when he realized she wasn't going to put her coat on, he turned and started to the door, Jenna at his heels.

Her body immediately began to shake once she stepped outside, but she struggled to ignore this as she held on to her coat while making her way through the snow storm and to Isaac's truck. Once it was unlocked, she immediately climbed in, still shivering, and she waited for Isaac to start it. He placed the key in the ignition, and once he started the truck, he quickly turned to Jenna's shivering frame.

"Look I know you don't like how I keep bringing it up, but I don't think you realize how dire it is you talk about it."

She knew Isaac to have nothing but good intentions and strong desires of helping her, but each time he mentioned the topic again it was like a strong kick to the gut. "Isaac," she mumbled. "I don't want to talk about him."

The cab of the truck grew silent, Jenna wondering why it had all the while, until she realized she had said 'him' and instead of 'it'. _Fuck... _

Now Isaac understood, once and for all, that it _all _had to do entirely with Bane. "You can't keep avoiding the subject, or avoiding him, Jenna..."

As he stared at her, he watched her close her eyes and take in a deep breath, only to start cursing at herself when she felt her eyes welling with tears. She turned away from Isaac to face the mirror, but she grew even more angry at herself when the noise of her sniffling filled the cab. Frowning, Isaac stared at her for another moment before he finally turned to face forward, put the truck in gear, and back away from the diner.

The truck ride back to the warehouse was filled with the sounds of the tires plowing through the snow on the road, the engine, and Jenna's near silent sniffling. With each sniffle, Isaac found himself feeling more and more conflicted. He wanted to still help her, but each time he tried it ended in Jenna only growing more upset. The only time he ever saw her smile, laugh, or feel anything else other than sadness and emptiness was when they were talking about something completely off subject, like colors, smoking, Christmas, accents or foreign languages... These distractions are what gave small insight to the old Jenna, but while it was enjoyable to witness, this was never permanent.

The warehouse appeared empty when Isaac's truck came bouncing into the lot, and he wondered if Bane and the rest had already finished the mission. He parked his truck just outside the garage door, and as soon as he shut the truck off and removed the key he pushed open his door and immediately started over to the garage door to start lifting it up. Wiping away a tear on her cheek, Jenna climbed out of the truck as well, and as she started over to the open garage door she began to finally put her coat on. Isaac kept the light inside the garage off, the area around them already lit and bright due to the snowy weather, and he began to pull out his pack of cigarettes.

"You want a smoke?" He asked Jenna, finding her leaning against the wall just under the garage, her body turned to him, but her head remained bowed. She nodded slowly, and after Isaac had lit his, he stepped closer to her before he handed her a cigarette and his lighter. Jenna glanced up slightly to accept them, but she instantly bowed her head again when she placed the cigarette in between her lips to light it. She exhaled slowly as she handed Isaac back his lighter, and as he placed it back into his pocket he kept his eyes focused on her all the while. Tears continued to slowly flow down her cheeks, and she continued to sniffle every once and a while.

Isaac glanced away finally, taking a slow and deep drag from his own cigarette, and when he heard Jenna's boots scuffle gently against the floor of the garage, he glanced back over to her, exhaling as he did so.

"Jenna, why are you crying?" He asked her gently. Jenna could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't bother glancing up to look at him. She shrugged, but answered his question anyway.

"You know why," she mumbled. "I can't... help it," she replied, sniffling slightly in between her words.

"You know I never had the intentions of making you cry," Isaac went on, surprised when Jenna let out a small sigh of laughter.

"I know," she replied, finally looking up to wipe away another tear. "It's hard to face. I just don't think talking will help right now..."

"Do you think it ever will?" Isaac asked a short moment later.

"Maybe," Jenna replied. "Just... not right now." She glanced away, hating herself as more tears welled gently in her eyes.

Isaac nodded solemnly. "We'll hold off on it then," he then assured, and Jenna could easily make out the sincerity in his voice. As she nodded the tears overflowed in her eyes, and she closed them, hoping to block them from sliding down her face, but nonetheless, a few escaped. As Isaac lifted his cigarette back to his mouth to take a drag, he noticed this when Jenna glanced back up to him, and keeping the cigarette fixed in between his sudden, grinning lips, he idly took a step closer to her.

"C'mon, Jenna, stop cryin'," he told her, reaching his hand up to place it on the side of her head, his palm resting on the upper part of her neck, just below her ear. Jenna froze suddenly, but when Isaac used his thumb to wipe away a tear, she relaxed slightly, understanding his kind gesture, until she suddenly found herself staring into his eyes. He stared back deeply into hers until Jenna dropped her gaze to his mouth when he exhaled from his previous hit, keeping his burning cigarette in between his lips all the while. Jenna felt her stomach drop slightly upon watching this, and suddenly his hand felt hot and heavy against her head. When she saw Isaac was still staring at her, her heart began to race as anxiety completely overtook her.

Isaac took the cigarette from his mouth with his left hand suddenly, and without warning he began to lean in closer to her. Jenna's mind went completely blank as she idly leaned in as well, and her eyes slid closed the second their lips touched.

Her heart was instantly sent into a speeding and racing frenzy, and she could feel it pounding against her chest as she went lightheaded. Having never been this close to Isaac, she gently inhaled the scent of gunpowder and cigarettes, and though her body had gone completely numb and stiff, she found herself deepening the kiss along with Isaac, pressing her lips closer to his as he took a breath in through his nose. The thick stubble that covered his face poked and tickled her own, but Jenna found this new sensation to be nothing but welcoming as a stunning thought crossed her mind suddenly. She could not remember when the last time she kissed somebody had been. Although the general feeling was familiar, it was still incredibly foreign, and as Isaac continued to move his lips against hers, she realized how she had always taken such real kisses for granted...

What lasted for only a few, short seconds felt as though it had gone on for minutes, and when Isaac finally pulled away, Jenna's eyes opened, and they immediately found his. Her heart was racing, her stomach was bubbling with an odd mix of nervousness and excitement, and if Isaac wasn't still holding onto her head, she was sure she would have fallen over due to the sheer randomness of his act. But as she stared back at him, suddenly she couldn't see the snow, feel the cold, or attempt to even focus on anything else, and as if it had been a verbal, mutual agreement, she found herself leaning back in to him, and meeting him half way before their lips met again.

Isaac's eyes remained closed as kissed her, his own heart racing and his body feeling dizzier than it had in a long, long time. His mind shut down completely at the feel of her plump, soft lips against his, and he curled his fingers into her hair to grip on it as he deepened the kiss. He dropped the cigarette from in between his fingers before he placed his hand on her hip, underneath her coat, and as soon as he pulled her closer, they both opened their mouths. The second Jenna felt Isaac's tongue against hers, she couldn't help but to let out a small, barely audible moan as she leaned in closer to him, finally dropping her own cigarette from her hand, and as soon as she did she gently wrapped her left arm around his waist. His body was warm, and significantly more slender than...

Isaac could feel Jenna slowly pause, and he applied more force into the kiss, trying to bring it back. He wanted to keep Jenna with him; he was not ready to let her revert back into her shell of despair, not now. And as soon as Jenna felt this new pressure in the kiss, the thought was abandoned from her mind.

When a strong gust of wind blew past, blowing Jenna's hair up and into her face, she and Isaac both halted the kiss, their eyes opening in unison. The area around her spun as she gazed into Isaac's blue and sunken eyes, but suddenly she felt as though she was seeing them in a new way. The excitement never failed to stop churning in her stomach, her body tingled, all the way from her toes to her fingertips, and with each inhale the combination of gunpowder and cigarettes caused the tingling to grow stronger, and she welcomed this feeling. She watched Isaac's eyes move in a small circle as they rounded over the eyeliner that lined her eyes, masking the red, and when he returned to the middle, he found the color of her eyes to be even more stunning than usual. Shocks ran throughout his own body, practically painfully stinging the back of his neck, and when curiosity got the best of him, he idly removed his hand from Jenna's hip and reached back before he gently trailed his fingertips up her left arm, underneath her coat sleeve, before he moved them down again, discovering her skin was definitely as soft as it appeared. When his hand stopped on her wrist, the desire to feel other parts of her body arose quickly, but a small voice in the back of his head started to make itself known.

_Stop. _

Jenna had seen a new look spread over his features when he touched her arm, his face going from sleepy, mild shock, to unmistakeable, curiosity. His eyebrows seemed to drop lower, his eyes glazed over, and his lips appeared as though they were ready to raise into a smirk at any second. Jenna slowly unwrapped her arm from his waist, but just before she could completely let go, her hand clutched the fabric of his coat, and once she did Isaac's grip around her wrist tightened ever so slightly. The prickling sensation in her body increased, willing her closer to him as she welcomed the absence of thought in her mind, and as she stared up at him her lips parted, preparing her to ask a question, but she paused, struggling with her inquiry.

"Do you wanna go inside?" She asked in a voice just above a whisper, her tone so quiet that if anyone else were around they would have failed to hear her. "It's kinda cold outside..." Her inquiry sent a strong shiver up and along Isaac spine, but he kept his composure as he nodded while removing his hands from her. He turned to face the garage door as Jenna slowly started toward the exit door, and after he closed the door and began to follow, he couldn't help but to glance over his shoulder. All the garage doors were closed, and the area in between the L-shaped building was completely empty. As he turned his head to face forward, the voice in his head kept commanding him to stop and change his mind, but once his eyes focused on Jenna, and ran down her slender back and stopped on her swaying hips, the voice faded away, and instead was replaced with silence.

The inside of the warehouse was just as empty as the outside, and after stepping inside behind Jenna, Isaac glanced down to the basement before turning his head the opposite way to glance down the hallway. Jenna had stopped near the basement stairs, and she bit her tongue as she found herself hoping and praying that Isaac would lead them up to his room. When Isaac glanced back at Jenna, sure now that the warehouse was empty, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to place his hand on her lower back to lead her toward the ladder. As she moved down the hall, Jenna couldn't help but to let out a small breath of relief, although her anxiety still remained strong.

The tingling sensations in her hands made it hard to grip the ladder, and Jenna could feel her legs shaking as she made her way up it, fighting through the shocks and tingles until she was stepping onto the platform. She glanced over her shoulder in just enough time to watch Isaac climb onto the platform, and as he stood she started over to his door to immediately push it open. Prolonged time was proving to be the only thing that kept the warning voice coming back to feed Isaac logical thoughts, and when the voice advised him further to stop, he glanced across his platform to look over at the thug's area, which like the rest of the warehouse, was empty. _If there were ever a time to do this, _he fought against the voice as he turned back to his door, _now would be it. _The warehouse was empty, Jenna seemed just as willing as he did, their prior kiss was making him hungry for more, and he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten so intimate with someone had been. When desire took over, suddenly he found it easy to fight against the voice.

After she removed her boots, Jenna was standing a few feet from the door, a new dizzy feeling overcoming her, and suddenly a voice of her own began to speak in her mind, making her feel confused. She struggled to ignore and avoid it, knowing very well the voice would bring _him _up at any moment, but as soon as Isaac stepped through the door and closed and locked it behind him, leaving his lights off, the only light stemming from the glowing numbers on his alarm clock, he immediately began to shrug off his coat as he stepped closer to her. Once he dropped his coat behind him, revealing the plain black t-shirt he wore underneath, he reached forward to place his hands on her hips, and once his fingers slid onto them, the voice was gone again. When he pulled her closer, Jenna's began to fade, and once he pressed his lips against hers, it shut up completely, as well.

The tingles over took her again as she lost herself in the kiss. She pressed her body closer to his, ignoring the slight pain that overcame her right arm as Isaac started to take off her coat, and she opened her mouth along with him. While the scruff that covered his face pricked her skin, his lips were rather soft, and she moaned slightly against him as their tongues danced hungrily against each other. Once her coat fell to the floor, she clutched the fabric of Isaac's shirt that covered his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her hips, his left hand grabbing the sling from her right arm to start taking it off. Once he let it fall to the ground, Jenna managed to move even closer to him, and his grip around on her waist tightened as she did, their kiss growing deeper. It took Jenna a minute to realize Isaac had started walking them toward his bed, and once she felt the back of her legs hit it, he let go of her hips and let her fall gently onto the soft mattress as he snapped on the small, dim lamp on his night stand.

As soon as she swung her legs onto the bed and looked up and over to him, she watched him finish taking his own boots off before he moved to quickly take off his shirt, and suddenly he was hovering over her and placing his hands and knees on either side of her. As her body and head sunk further into the bed and pillows, Jenna couldn't stop her eyes from glancing down and wandering over his exposed arms and torso, and she grew surprised to see Isaac bared three tattoos – one on either side of his upper arms, just beneath his shoulders, and a single, cursive, foreign word on the left side of his chest. The sight of these only turned her on further, and when she raised her eyes a little further she noticed a large, faded red scar that stretched diagonally toward his neck, starting from just under his shoulder. Vaguely she wondered how he had obtained that, but before she could even raise the desire to ask, Isaac was leaning down to bring back the kiss.

Jenna ran her hand up his arm, surprised to find that although it was slender, it still carried muscle, and she wished that her right arm wasn't broken. She struggled to keep it stationary, and she felt Isaac grin against her when he felt her cast twitching against him. He broke the kiss, but he kept his face close to hers, and his eyes wandered down to her left before he began to pull up the fabric from her tank top. This time the shock than ran up her spine stung her head powerfully, warning her that this was _really _happening, and the time to stop it was now or never. But as Isaac began to slide her left arm out of the shirt and move to pass it over her head, Jenna sucked in a sharp breath when she felt Isaac suddenly and quickly reach underneath her and unclasp her bra with a simple pinch of his fingers before he removed her left arm from the strap. She felt the breath tremble out from her lips when he easily lifted her shirt and bra off of her chest to slide down her right arm to complete the task of disrobing her upper half. He let the clothes fall to the floor before he reached up to slide one of his pillows out from under her head, and she let out a startled breath at this. Resting only on a flat pillow now, Jenna bit her lip, her cheeks growing hot as she watched Issac's eyes wander down and over her breasts as he sat back on his knees, still straddling her waist, and she closed her eyes when she heard Isaac sigh. They opened a short second after, however, when she felt Isaac take a gentle hold of her cast, and she turned her head to watch him lift her arm and place it slightly over her head, her arm remaining bent the entire time. For a second Jenna was surprised she had the ability to do that with her arm, and her eyes widened slightly as she enjoyed the sheer comfortable feeling of this position, but when she heard Isaac's voice she was immediately distracted.

"Does that hurt?" He asked in a whisper, and when Jenna turned her head she found him to be looking directly at her. Her throat suddenly felt dry, and she found it hard to swallow. As Isaac was still leaning over her now, taking her in with his eyes, and Jenna felt as though she hadn't been so exposed with someone in years. Only in her dreams during that horrible month was she able to entertain herself with the idea, but now that it was becoming a reality with Isaac, things felt much different. She used to take so much pride in her body before that month, but now here she was, laying still under Isaac in this more than vulnerable position, biting her lip while struggling not to cover her chest with her left arm. In the back of her mind she recalled another time when she was in a similar position with a different man –when he held both of her wrists over her head with one hand, painfully cutting off the circulation– and just like that the masked man flashed in her mind. She closed her eyes again, forcing a swallow down past her dry throat as her stomach uncomfortably clenched again, but she forced the beast from her mind, and instead focused on Isaac's question.

She shook her head now, and as soon as she did, she reached up with her left hand to grip his shoulder and pull him back down over her body before crashing her lips against his. His right hand found her hip, and Jenna's body tensed as she felt him start to slide his fingertips softly up her stomach, and once his hand ran over her breast, she could not help the stronger, louder moan that escaped past her and into Isaac's mouth. Her reaction enticed him, and he tightened his grip on it as he broke the kiss to place his lips against her neck. She groaned again when she felt him bite on her flesh, his stubble almost painful as it rubbed against her soft skin, and her eyes closed as her jaw dropped, her hand finding his shoulder to dig her nails into. Isaac groaned against her neck when he felt her nails break through the skin, and he bit her harder, lust completely overtaking his body.

Not wanting to be the stationary participant who just laid still and had everything given to her, Jenna immediately removed her hand from his shoulder to find the buttons and zipper of his cargo pants. She struggled to undo the top button with only her left hand, but when she felt Isaac groan against her neck upon feeling her hand against him, motivation overcame her, and she closed her eyes again once she finally undid the button. As she moved on to the second and last button, Isaac began to trail kisses down her neck, and Jenna's jaw dropped, a moan escaping when she felt Isaac trace her collarbone with his tongue. A shiver ran throughout her body as she finally undid the button, and just when she reached his zipper, Isaac sat back on his knees and grabbed her hips, letting out a sigh as she unzipped his pants.

This new side of Jenna he had never witnessed was driving him crazy. His pants tightened more,

despite their recently undone state as he stared at her, topless, beneath him. _God, it's been so long_. Without thinking, he trailed his hands from her hips up her sides and over her ribs, and as he watched his hands cup her breasts he let out a groan as he squeezed them. Isaac couldn't remember the last time he had something so warm and soft in his hands, as opposed to the various weapons and tools with their hard, metallic textures he had grown so accustomed to handling for a long while. The corner of his lips raised on his parted mouth when he saw Jenna close her eyes and let out a moan while arching her back as he kept his hand on her breasts, moving them in circles. Her reactions to his touch enticed and empowered him, and when Jenna opened her eyes, the aqua blue color now hazy, he grinned at her before leaning forward.

Jenna could not suppress the loud moan that escaped from her when Isaac attached his mouth to her right nipple. Her eyes clenched tightly closed, and she arched her back when she felt Isaac's tongue swirl over it suddenly, moving in perfect, tight, round circles. She placed her hand on the side of his back and pressed her nails into it, and she sighed when Isaac leaned back up to her face to leave another kiss on her lips while his hands found the top her own pants. She could feel his fingers moving against her as he undid the button and moved down the zipper, and without hesitation he backed up on the bed to pull both her pants and underwear down her legs. Jenna lifted up her hips, assisting him, and once she felt the clothing at her knees, she moved to kick them off of her body as Isaac crawled back on top of her.

"Что вы хотите, чтобы я сделала для вас?" He asked in a deeper, sultry voice that sent a wave of dizziness over Jenna, the sensation causing her eyes to snap open upon hearing Isaac suddenly and randomly speak his native language.

"What?" She asked, breathless, able to feel Isaac's lips against hers, that same excitement from the diner bubbling her stomach.

"What do you want me to do to you?" He rephrased in English, grinning when he felt Jenna's body clench and witness her lips part hungrily. She let out a slow breath as she continued to stare into his half-lidded eyes.

"Touch me," she replied slowly and breathlessly, enjoying the smirk that stretched across Isaac's lips.

"A woman of simple tastes," he deemed, still hovering over her, and Jenna couldn't help but to grin as well while she watched him lower his hand from her peripheral vision.

"Yeah- ah!" Her reply instantly morphed into a loud moan when she felt Isaac slide a finger inside of her with no hesitation, and her eyes clenched closed as she arched her back and spread her legs further.

Still smirking, Isaac began to easily move his middle finger in and out of her, his eyes focused intently on her as another swarm of blood ran downward. Her eyes remained softly closed while her lips remained parted, and suddenly desiring to see that exhilarated look on her face again, his grin expanded before he gently eased two fingers inside of her now.

"Oh my God..." Jenna groaned after her jaw had dropped. Jenna's body stiffened while her walls tightened around him, and suddenly, vaguely, that voice returned to her mind. _This is wrong_. But Jenna ignored it, her body refusing to listen. The sensation from Isaac's fingers diving inside her over and over again intensified, and she groaned as she turned her head against the pillow, her nails still clenching his side.

Already she could feel her finish approaching, and as Isaac watched her, he bit his lip in anticipation when he felt how much more wet Jenna had become and how tightly her walls clenched around his fingers. By the time Jenna had even considered making him stop, the sensation from her first, powerful orgasm took a hold of her, and she cried out rather loudly as her body trembled. Isaac's finger movements slowed, but the feeling they brought on intensified as Jenna struggled to catch her breath and keep herself from moaning loudly. But as soon as her racing heart began to slow and her body relaxed, a very unwelcoming, startling, muffled and metallic voice suddenly spoke up in her head.

_ "Well, that was... fast," _the voice said in an amused tone, and as soon as it had spoken, Jenna's eyes snapped open as strong, painful shock ran up her spine while the particular memory of her and Bane flashed in her mind. Swallowing again, she closed her eyes tightly as she absentmindedly shook her head, and she fought with her mind, willing the images of _him _away.

Opening her eyes now and desperate to rid Bane from her mind, she let go of Isaac's side and started to push his pants down, her silent actions immediately letting Isaac know what she wanted. Slowly and teasingly, he removed his fingers from her and applied more pressure when he ran them up the length of her, smiling when Jenna let out a pleasurable squeak as her back arched, and he promptly moved to finish removing his pants. As he kicked them onto the ground, Jenna hungrily eyed his large and erect dick, her body and mind desiring nothing else, and when Isaac's eyes found her face he smirked when he saw what she was looking at.

There was no need to speak and there was no need to prolong things any further. Once he positioned himself in between her, he studied her face as he began to push himself into her, savoring each sensation as he went deeper and deeper inside of her, only to close his eyes and let out a groan when he felt her immediately tighten around him. Clutching the blankets now with her left hand while she struggled to keep her right arm stationary, Jenna closed her eyes as her jaw dropped slightly, her back arching more and more, and after Isaac had filled her up completely, she let out a slow and steady sigh as he started to slide back out. For the first time in what seemed like ages, there was no pain attached to this action, and Jenna had forgotten how it felt to have a man inside of her with the absence of pain. Without warning, however, he rapidly quickened his pace, and before long he had reached a quicker, steady rhythm against her, his hips swinging as he clutched on the blankets on either side of Jenna. He kept his eyes closed as he became lost in the sensations, each thrust feeling better and better and ultimately bringing his finish closer. Beneath him Jenna continued to emit moan after moan, the noises becoming more breathless as she moved her hips against his as well, and when she opened her eyes she found Isaac staring down at her.

As Isaac leaned down Jenna raised her head, their lips meeting in the middle, and she kissed him hungrily as her hand found his shoulder. Isaac hissed against her when she dug her nails even deeper into his skin, and she dragged them down the length of his back just when he took a hold of her bottom lip in between his teeth. Opening his eyes, he grinned as he leaned back slightly, taking her lip with him, and only after Jenna whimpered did he let go. He let out a short laugh when Jenna gently ran her teeth over it to help soothe the pain, but without warning his pace quickened, and he pounded himself deeper inside of her, and already Jenna felt herself about to come again.

The sensation instantly took over her entire body, and as Isaac continued to swing his hips against hers, Jenna struggled to control the volume of her moans as she came, gripping her fingers around his arm as her body moved against his, the sex suddenly feeling so much better. But all too quickly, a sudden image of Bane flashed her mind, startling her, and for just a second her mind forced her to face the image of Bane hovering over her as she came, rather than Isaac. She turned her head, now, the sensation of her orgasm remaining strong as Isaac continued on for a while longer, her body growing more and more sensitive all over as Bane finally began to fade from her mind, and just when Jenna thought she'd be unable to take it any longer, Isaac was bowing his head and gritting his teeth as he came inside her, letting out loud series of moans and groans past his teeth as he did so. Once he had finished, and strong, pleasurable sensations of their own overtook and numbed his body, he dropped his jaw to let out a huge sigh, and Jenna watched his chest heave up and down as he tried to catch his breath.

Breathing steadily herself, she turned her face to the left to avoid breathing directly on him, and as she stared at his closed door, barely illuminated by the lamp, those same images of Bane began to flash in her mind and force logic back to her as her orgasm began to rapidly fade away. What had they just done? What would Bane do _when _he found out about this? How would Isaac react to her now? _Oh my God... _

Jenna's lips parted slightly as her eyebrows furrowed, and she dropped her gaze from the door to the carpet, her hand idly falling away from Isaac's arm to dangle off the edge of the bed. While her racing heart was starting to slow, she became legitimately dizzy as she thought back to all that had just happened, and she closed her eyes. _What have you done?_

Hovering over Jenna, Isaac kept his eyes closed as a stinging sensation became known on the back of his neck, and he closed his eyes tighter as he, too, realized the severity of what he had just done with _Bane's _girl. _You've done it now, buddy, _Isaac's own mind was scolding. _If you thought lying to Bane all those years ago would be the death of you, imagine what he'll do now... _

He kept his eyes closed, his own breathing becoming slower and gentler, and only after he started to move away from Jenna did he realize he was still inside her. Thoughts of Bane burned inside his own head, and all he could think to himself was one, simple word over and over again: _betrayal, betrayal, betrayal... _He swallowed as he pulled out of her while Jenna couldn't help but to let out a quiet sigh, having forgotten as well, and the bed bounced slightly when she felt Isaac get up and immediately head into the bathroom. The fact that he hadn't even said a _word _to her or looked at her once they were finished proved it: he was feeling just as guilty as she was. A strong, foreboding feeling was burning Jenna from the inside out, and she couldn't help but to feel as if she had just granted Bane her own death wish.

Jenna thinned her lips as she turned onto her side, bending her legs at the knees to bring them up closer to her chest, and her mind spun with deep worry and concern as the one topic she couldn't stand to think about anymore pushed its way through finally. What would Bane do now? Kill her? Kill Isaac? Jenna groaned quietly as she closed her eyes tighter. She could only imagine.

She didn't want to go downstairs. She feared seeing Bane. She feared the talk he'd force on them, if any, and even more so she feared what he would do to Isaac. The longer these thoughts went on, the more exhausted Jenna became, and by the time Isaac was walking out of the bathroom, wearing only a pair of boxers now, the fear of going downstairs at that moment was too frightening to bare.

"Can I sleep in here?" Jenna's forced question broke through the awkward silence. Isaac had just reached the foot of his bed, and he immediately picked up on the hidden meaning in her tone. When he glanced at her, he saw she had rolled onto her left side, and her eyes were closed. To be honest, Isaac wasn't entirely ready to face Bane either... how could he have let this happen? _How _did it happen?

"Yeah," he replied simply. "That's fine." His voice had returned to its usual, American accent, but Jenna was grateful for this. Feeling entirely too tired to get dressed, let alone get out of bed, regardless of how early it may still be, all Jenna could manage to do was get the blankets out from under her, and she waited until Isaac had crawled into his bed behind her. She began to place the blankets over her, but she paused when Isaac reached over her to pick up the pillow from the floor and place it on his side of the bed, next to the wall. Once he snapped off the lamp, Jenna waited this time for him to pull the blankets up, and once he had she forced herself to scoot down slightly and get comfortable, a small part of her mind allowing her to enjoy being in an actual _bed_.

Behind her, Isaac turned around, his back facing her own, and he stared at the wall through the dark, his mind flashing him images of Jenna beneath him. When they grew too strong and vivid, he closed his eyes, shutting them away. Jenna was struggling to do the same behind him until finally she closed her eyes too, exhaustion getting the best of her, and as her body relaxed, her mind ran rapid with thoughts of what the next day would hold...

**I seriously cannot wait to hear what you all have to say about this chapter! PLEASE leave me a review expressing your thoughts! Isaac and Jenna? How COULD they, or, DO IT AGAIN!? What do you think is going to happen? How will Bane react? AHHH!**

**(Would also like to take the time to remind anyone who needs the reassurance that this IS a Bane fic, and the upcoming chapters will all be primarily Bane. Each action and interaction with the characters all happen for various, PLANNED reasons.)**

**Also, a giant thank you to my second mind and pair of eyes, _Loretta Lolita_. Her dedication to this story and my characters is amazing, and her help never goes unappreciated :)**


	22. What Will Become

Jenna wasn't entirely sure of what, exactly, caused her to wake that next morning, but as soon as her eyes opened, and she found herself staring into the green-tinted darkness of her current room, realization overwhelmed her, and the weight of her actions the night before came crashing down on her. The room spun as the feeling of lead sunk down in her stomach, weighing her down further into Isaac's soft bed, and she could not escape the regrettable image of him hovering over her. Even worse, the longer the thought went on, the more she was able to remember how his hands had felt on her body, how his fingers had felt inside of her, and if she really concentrated, she could almost swear she felt his scruff physically against her skin.

But fear and worry overtook her immediately as thoughts of Bane haunted her mind, and she bit her lip as she turned her head to the right, where she found Isaac to still be sleeping, his back facing her. Before she could even comprehend what she was doing, she gently threw the blankets off of her, stood from the bed, and began to quickly collect her clothes. After she had managed to dress herself, she kept her bra, and boots clutched tightly in her left hand while her coat and sling hung from her left arm, and before venturing toward the door, she stole one final look at Isaac's slumbering frame. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that her body could so easily betray her mind, and make her do things she would ultimately regret. She did not want to go downstairs, but she feared spending any more time with Isaac would only make matters worse. Jenna could only imagine what Bane would say and do to her... but what about Isaac?

Biting her lip again, Jenna turned around and stepped up to the door, and as soon as she gently closed it behind her, she dropped her boots and bra to the floor below before she started down the ladder.

Her heart began to race while her throat began to close as she moved quietly down the barren hallway, but as soon as she reached the basement stairs, her feet came to a sudden halt. She stared down into the darkness that engulfed the stairs, and faintly she could hear that dripping noise. She wondered what Bane was doing currently. Did he already know what she and Isaac had done? If not, _when _would he find out? She knew she couldn't lie to him, that was out of the question. Her entire punishment before had been based solely on the fact that she had lied to Bane. Even if she wanted to lie, she felt as though she would be physically incapable of speaking the deceiving words. But how could she look him in the eye and fess up or confirm what had happened? The thought sent a pang through her heart as she closed her eyes. Had Jenna realized the terrible situation she would have been putting herself in, she would have fought against her urges the night before.

What sounded like something shuffling against the floor immediately caused her eyes to snap back open, and with a deep, staggering breath, she forced herself to start downstairs, hoping and praying she could make it to her room secretly and silently and worry about facing this situation later.

The basement was freezing, and Jenna focused on moving as quietly as she could toward her room as she kept her eyes focused on the floor in front of her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop herself from stealing a glance at Bane's door, which she discovered to be opened ever so slightly, a dim, orange light shining through the open areas between the door and the frame. Swallowing, Jenna tore her eyes away, hoping Bane was either still asleep inside or outside of the warehouse somewhere, and she continued on her slow and exhausting path to her door. Just when Jenna was a few feet away from her door, the sudden sound of feet shuffling against the floor and a loud series of muffles stole her attention. With a gasp, she absentmindedly turned toward the direction the noise had come from as she jumped back. But as soon as she had, she let out a squeak of a scream when she felt her back slam against something hard and warm, and as soon as she whipped her body around, she found herself staring up at Bane through the darkness with a racing heart.

From within his room, Bane had heard what could have only been Jenna approaching, and after listening to her feet shuffling against the floor in a very quiet and prolonged manner, he immediately rose from his seat on his bed and ventured to his door. He watched her advance to her room, carrying her boots and something else in her left hand, and he could not stop himself from stepping out of his room to approach her, wondering why he had not seen her at all the night before.

Now that he was standing directly in front of Jenna, he realized he wasn't exactly sure of what to even say. Her face – with her black make-up smeared messily around her eyes– had distorted into a look of pure shock, and Bane's eyes had followed the motion of her boots and other items falling to the floor. As soon as she had dropped them, Jenna tore her gaze away from him to bend down and pick up her boots, sling and coat, and only after she picked up the other object did Bane realize it was her bra. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Jenna quickly pick up the items in her left hand, and when she leaned up, his eyes followed her movement until he was staring at her neck, where he found a strange, red mark on her skin. He stared at it for another short moment before he finally lifted his eyes to look at her face, all the while wondering why was she carrying her bra the way she was.

Swallowing, Jenna struggled to hold her boots and bra behind her back, shielding them from Bane's glare, although she was certain he had seen. As her chest heaved up and down, she fearfully anticipated what Bane was going to say or do, but much to her surprise, he remained stationary and quiet. When she lifted her eyes, she saw that he was just staring down at her, with a somewhat confused expression in his eyes. Jenna stared up at him for a few seconds longer until she heard movement next to her, and she turned her head to the right with another start.

"I see you've encountered our guest," Bane spoke up suddenly, deciding he'd ask Jenna about the oddity of her absence and bra later. His voice tore Jenna's attention away from the "guest" to glance back up at him, and she felt her heart plummet to her stomach upon remembering how his voice had sounded in her head the night before.

"Guest?" She repeated after she had cleared her throat, that anxiety never leaving her. Bane had turned his head to glance over to the right before he began to step over to the dark area, and only after he had done so did Jenna remember what he had told her the day before. "You mean... _the mayor_?"

Bane had immediately picked up on the panic in her voice, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning once he reached the light switch. As soon as he turned on the lights, Jenna's eyes immediately squinted, but they also instantly focused on the man who was shackled in chains to the wall. Her jaw dropped as she stared at the blindfolded mayor, sitting helplessly against the wall, his hair a ruffled mess while his clothes were torn and dirty, and when Bane turned to start stepping over to her, she swallowed as she raised her eyes to him.

"Mister Anthony Garcia," Bane said as he continued to step toward her, now turning his head to glance at the mayor, who let out a shaky breath. "Here to do exactly what I say and _when_ I say to do it."

Still watching Bane as he continued his slow advance toward her, Jenna, though confused and frightened by the kidnapping, found herself thankful for the topic of choice. "Like what?" She asked in a small voice, hoping she could slip into her room in the midst of this subject to avoid speaking to Bane about the topic she so desperately wanted to avoid.

"You'll find out in due time, Jenna," Bane replied evenly as he finally looked back to her. He stopped smoothly in his tracks, a good two feet from her, and his eyes wandered down her torso before stopping on the items she held in her hand, and his eyes immediately focused on her bra again. Jenna had followed his eye movements, and already she began to anticipate his questions due to the items she carried, and her obvious absence the night before. Without thinking, she quickly turned to push open her door, but as soon as she stepped inside, she clenched her eyes closed for a moment out of frustration when she realized she had only given Bane _more _of an opportunity to follow her inside and press for information. _Oh, shit._

Sure enough, after waiting no longer than a few seconds, as soon as Jenna had set the items on the floor next to her cot, purposely kicking her bra under it, Bane stepped into her room, his eyes already focused on her. He could not _exactly _place it, but he knew Jenna was struggling, and failing to avoid to him currently. Something seemed off about her, as well. Her hair was not only a mess, but the makeup surrounding the eyes she tried so desperately to keep off of him now had been smeared severely. Her movements were gentle and prolonged, and Bane could feel some sort of tension in the air radiating off from her. All of these aspects seemed to easily add up to something: the ruffled hair, severely smudged make-up, the red mark on her neck, the careful movements, the absence for the entire night, and the item she so oddly carried in her hand, but Bane's mind currently was unable to come up with a final conclusion.

Meanwhile, Jenna had been scooting down in her squeaky cot and preparing herself to lay down, but when she turned, she mistakenly caught Bane's eyes, and they locked for a long second before she glanced away. The wonder in his eyes remained strong, though this time Jenna noticed his eyebrows had furrowed, and she swallowed as she kept her eyes focused on the pillow behind her as she redundantly fixed it, wishing Bane would leave now without a word or a second thought. If Bane asked her no questions, then she would not be telling any lies...

Bane struggled with his next words for a moment, until he realized there was really no great way to ask her the questions he wanted. "Why are you acting so... strange, this morning?"

Because this was not an exact question Jenna had been anticipating, her head snapped around in his direction before she could stop herself, and her eyes found his once again. Her jaw dropped slightly as she struggled to speak.

"H-how do you mean?" She wanted to look away, but she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from his, but when he took a small step closer to her cot, she closed her mouth and swallowed.

"Surely, it is obvious," Bane replied, picking up now on every minuscule tone in her voice – the tone of _fear _particularly evident – expressions on her face, and actions she preformed. Jenna watched his eyes raise up slowly to her hair before they dropped back down her eyes, and suddenly she had to wonder how much of a mess she appeared to be. Without warning, she turned suddenly to pick up the mirror shard from the chair next to her, and Bane witnessed her quick look of surprise before she held up the mirror to block her face. But before she could focus on her make-up or hair, she sucked in a silent breath when she noticed the red bite mark on her neck. She struggled holding herself back from tilting the mirror or turning her head to look at it, and as she cursed to herself for not stopping by the bathroom before coming downstairs, she hoped and prayed that Bane had not seen it...

All the while, Bane had become surprised, himself, due to her actions. Just up until the day before, Jenna couldn't have cared less about what she looked like, what her body language portrayed, how she sounded or what she said, even in front of him. But to suddenly witness her _deeply_ _caring _about what she looked like, and watching her set down the mirror on the bed to lean over it and start to wipe off some of the smudged makeup with her finger? Bane couldn't help his eyes narrowing on her, but also his curiosity and strong desire to know why, exactly, she was acting the way she was had hit an all-time high. He licked his lips from behind his mask before he spoke again.

"Where were you last night?"

There it was, one of the dreaded questions Jenna had been anticipating. But even though she had been strongly anticipating it, she had to close her eyes and bow her head slightly when she felt her stomach drop just as the room began to spin. She felt as though she was sinking down past the cot and melting into a puddle on the floor, and as the room spun faster, her stomach began to clench tightly in pure fear and anxiety. How could she answer that without more questions arising, or without Bane immediately drawing a murderous conclusion? Jenna had wanted so desperately to avoid all of this. Because she was unable to take back her actions the night before, she had foolishly hoped and prayed she could find a way to keep it from Bane, without having to lie, and without having to get in trouble. But now, naturally, all the lies she could spew had already started to form in her head, and she could practically hear her racing heart beating in her own ears as she fought against the lies, urgently reminding herself of her punishment.

She couldn't lie, especially to _Bane_, of all people. If she was to lie, she'd be unable to keep a story straight, let alone speak her words clearly, and even if she did, Bane would easily be able to call her out on her false tale. Not only that, but she _knew _Isaac would ultimately tell Bane the truth, no matter what. Why wouldn't he? He was Bane's second in command, and finally Jenna began to realize what an important and crucial title that was in relation to Bane's operations. Isaac _couldn't _lie to Bane, even if he wanted to, even if it was to keep Jenna safe. Even more so, how could Jenna even desire this? She didn't want to see Isaac get hurt, especially if it was to protect _her. _

It felt as though had minutes had passed, and when Jenna finally opened her eyes to glance up at Bane, she found him to be expectantly staring back her, his arms crossed now as he patiently waited for an answer. She licked her dry lips before swallowing to sooth her sudden dry throat, and when she finally answered him, her voice was low, quiet, and scratchy.

"...Isaac."

"You were with Barsad?" Bane confirmed, the confused tone in his voice louder than the words he spoke. "_All night?_"

At any second now he would figure it all out, Jenna knew, and now there was no avoiding it. As she stared at him, Bane suddenly looked bigger, harsher, and more menacing. His muscles, now appearing larger and thicker than before, seemed to be flexed tightly as he kept his arms crossed, and suddenly it seemed as though his head was just a mere few inches below the ceiling. His gaze was harder than ever as he stared at her, and though his eyes were absent of anger, for now, to Jenna it felt as though his gaze was burning her alive. His mask only added to the expression she was sure she was envisioning, resembling that of some sort of angry animal, with its mouth open, teeth baring, ready to attack...

Ideas had started to form in Bane's mind, but he fought against them, deciding instantly that he was over-thinking the situation, and after a long moment, Bane kept his patience when he finally spoke up.

"Where?" he asked slowly, his tone calm, curious and even, but to Jenna it felt as though he had screamed this question at her. She bit down on her tongue before she forced herself to answer with the truth.

"His... room. I-I... slept in there."

She had picked up on Bane's long silence before he had asked her that question, and after she answered, she had seen the way his eyes narrowed on her, like that angry, teeth-baring animal, ready to pounce and painfully devour its prey. She could practically hear the thoughts in his mind adding up the evidence to bring him to the final conclusion, and she felt her body sway back and to the side slightly before she tried to inconspicuously correct this. But a strong weight had started to push her down into her cot again as the silence went on now, making her feel even dizzier to the point of her having to look away from him with a slight turn of her head.

Only two conclusions remained in Bane's head: one conclusion about Jenna's actions innocent, and the other the exact opposite. When Jenna turned her head, Bane's eyes immediately dropped down to her neck, where he found the light red mark again. But after he had squinted his eyes, and finally discovered the section of reddened skin appeared to look just like a _bite _mark, a loud ringing sensation occurred in his ears, and as he stared at the mark his vision began to blur as various, powerful shocks ran up and down his spine with no hope of stopping. His lips parted from behind the mask as he remained stationary, his crossed arms becoming loose in their position, and suddenly he couldn't fathom the images of possible scenarios that his mind was flashing him.

Growing even more frightened with the silence, Jenna forced herself to glance back at him, but as soon as she figured out Bane _had _seen the bite mark, and was still staring at it right now, she felt her heart plummet to her stomach, and her eyes widened as her own lips parted. But without warning, Bane suddenly snapped out of his daze before turning quickly to take large, angry steps out of her room, and his actions were like a slap in the face. Jenna couldn't help but to flinch as soon as he had done this, and her body lunged forward in her cot to watch him head over to his room.

Regardless of what he had imagined, Bane was completely unable to accept the obvious conclusion he had come to. Now, he found himself desperate suddenly to confirm it for himself with cold-hard evidence. He slammed his hand against his door to push it open further than it already was, and the door bounced loudly off the wall before it stopped just a few inches from the door frame. He stopped short in front of his desk and TV, and he wasted no time with picking up the remote to turn it on. He switched the news channel screen to the screen that contained various camera images from the devices that were planted all around the warehouse, and after selecting the image of the garage doors, knowing very well that would be the spot he'd be able to see Jenna and Barsad together, he enlarged it before pressing 'rewind'.

Meanwhile, Jenna could not stop herself from getting out of the cot and wandering to her door to peer outside of it. Regardless of how desperately she wanted to avoid this situation, now that it was happening, she felt as though she would have to be there to explain herself and defend Isaac. She quietly crept out of her room and ventured toward Bane's partially closed door, a flickering, blue light escaping from the edges, and once she reached it, she peered through the crack. She found Bane standing in front of his TV, his arms crossed again, and when she glanced at the TV in front of him, she saw a still image of the garages outside with the three rewind marks stretched horizontally over them.

Her jaw dropped as a shock stung her neck, and she had to reach out to place her hand on the frame of the door to steady herself as the blood in her veins turned to ice. _Bane has cameras? He has the ability to see _everything _that goes on?! _She thought dizzily to herself. Jenna's widened eyes could not believe what she was seeing and what she was being forced to comprehend. The shock of this discovery was not helping to sooth her soaring fear of the situation, and now she realized Bane would be able to see _exactly _what had happened outside. Her jaw dropped further as she struggled to speak up, desperate to say _anything _that could perhaps stop him from witnessing the footage, but each time she tried to talk, only staggering breaths escaped from her mouth. The area around her began to spin, and she felt her body sway back slightly, her eyes still focused on the TV in front of Bane.

It didn't take long for some activity to show up on the screen, and Bane remained stationary as he watched the fast images of his other thugs moving backwards on the screen. A few seconds later, the image went still again, until suddenly two, small people came speeding in from the corner, and from there they went stationary in front of the open garage door: _Barsad__ and Jenna. _

One of the rewind bars was stretched directly over the upper halves of their bodies, and as Bane waited a few more seconds for the footage to rewind just a bit more, he sucked in his lips as he bit down on his tongue, the room feeling as though it had started to spin. After another few seconds, he pressed down on the 'play' button, using more pressure than necessary, and he stood perfectly still as he watched the scene unfold before his widened, inquiring eyes.

There was no sound, but no sound was needed. Bane watched as Isaac parked his truck in the front of the garage before stepping out a short second later to proceed with opening up the garage door. Uninterested with his actions for the time being, his eyes immediately flickered over to the passenger side door of the truck, and as he waited to watch Jenna step out, he clenched on the remote even tighter in his hand. Finally, her door opened, and Bane watched her step out onto the snow-covered lot as she struggled with putting her coat on, all while making her way over to the garage with a bowed head. She stopped just underneath the opened door to lean against a wall, her head remaining bowed, and Bane's eyebrows furrowed when he watched her lift her hand to her face to... _wipe away tears?_

A bit after, Isaac stepped up to her, handing her a cigarette, and as Bane watched the exchange, the anticipation he was feeling grew so strong until the point came where it was starting to burn. They were talking, Isaac's gaze focused intently on her while Jenna kept her head down, using her hand to wipe away what _were _tears, Bane confirmed. Bane watched Isaac's lips move before they stopped as he more than likely waited for Jenna to answer what he had said, though Bane was unsure if she ever had. What had they been talking about? What was making Jenna cry?

The two stayed still now, Jenna's gaze remaining lowered while Isaac nodded at something, until suddenly he spoke again, this time taking a step toward Jenna as he reached his hand out, his cigarette still dangling from his mouth. Jenna glanced up at him now, and as soon as Bane witnessed Isaac place his hand on the side of her head, he released his tongue and instead tensed his jaw. On screen, the two remained still in that position –Isaac staring at her while she stared at him– but already Bane knew exactly what was coming. He was anticipating it, readying himself to witness it, but after Isaac had removed his cigarette from his mouth before the two finally began to lean in, and the second Bane witnessed their lips locking, he closed his eyes, struggling to ignore how fast the room was spinning now.

He wasn't sure how long he had kept his eyes closed, but when he opened them again to look back to the screen, he saw their kiss had become more passionate: their bodies closer, Isaac's arms around her, their lips still wrongly mashed together... Before long, the kiss stopped, the two remaining stationary again, and Bane watched Jenna's tiny lips move on the screen before Isaac nodded as a reply to whatever she had said. Suddenly, Jenna began to head toward the warehouse exit door while Isaac closed the garage, Jenna disappearing from the camera's view before long. As soon as Bane had witnessed Isaac's exit, his fist closed around the remote even tighter. Now, there was no doubt whatsoever about what they had done. The footage from the camera, the mark on Jenna's neck, and the way she was acting all proved it. _Jenna and Isaac... they..._

Just the thought of it caused a painful and amplified ringing sensation to occur in his ears, and the sound blocked out every other noise around him. Regardless of the evidence that pointed to the truth, Bane found that he either couldn't accept what had gone on, or just simply didn't want to. At that moment, any images refused to enter his mind, his brain resisting to let him see any clear scenarios, but he gave up trying easily and instead closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the ringing and spinning sensation.

Jenna remained perfectly motionless from where she stood outside his door, peering in at him, and she held her breath as she stared at his perfectly still frame, anticipating the worst. The image of the garages was perfectly inactive on the screen now, she noticed, and when her eyes flickered over to Bane, she saw how tense his muscles had become beneath his black, long sleeved shirt. Her eyes wandered down his arm and to the hand that held the remote, and she swallowed when she noticed how his hand was trembling. Her eyebrows met in the middle as she raised her eyes once more, her jaw going slack, and she could not escape the desire to say _something_: to explain herself, to inform him better of the situation, justify the acts, and defend Isaac. A small part of her was relieved that she had not tried to lie –had she known he had cameras, the thought would have never crossed her mind– but this was not a truth she wanted to face. Regardless, she opened her mouth more, a small humming noise escaping past her, preparing her to speak, but she immediately choked it back, unsure entirely of what to say. She dug her nails into the wooden frame of the door, her heart racing, the room spinning so fast it was making her go lightheaded, and as the seconds ticked on, slowly, the urge to say something –anything– had grown too strong.

"...Bane–" her voice cut off as soon as she had built up the courage to speak his name, and she licked her lips before she swallowed, trying to hold onto the last bit of courage she had to explain it to him. But before she had the chance to go on, Bane interrupted, knowing very well that she was standing behind him at his door, and fully aware that she had just seen what he had on the TV.

"What did you two do... when you went inside?" His metallic voice was low, but oddly enough, his words were spoken clear and pristine. Jenna frowned, her stomach dropping lower than ever upon hearing his voice, and the strongest shock of her life painfully stung her entire body as she clutched on the frame of the door harder. She wasn't sure of what to make of his tone.

She blinked her eyes rapidly before she focused them on his back again, and she realized finally that he was waiting for an answer. But when she opened her mouth, she found that she felt completely unable to answer his question with an outright yes. The new situation that was unfolding was undoubtedly terrifying; she had absolutely no idea what was going through Bane's mind, what he was going to do, and how he'd react when she confirmed his already correct suspicions.

"Jenna," he spoke her name, his tone slightly louder, but one-hundred-percent firmer. It was clear he was losing his patience, and Jenna couldn't help but to release her grip from the frame slightly when she felt her body start to tremble.

"Wh... wha-?"

Bane sucked in a sharp breath before quickly turning his head to glance at her from over his shoulder, but as soon as his eyes met hers from beyond the door, he glanced down to the floor, taking another giant breath as he realized he had to take a more direct approach. "_Did _you or _didn't _you–" he closed his eyes, unable to say the direct he word he wanted to. "–Engage in intimate... _activity_ with Barsad?" Bane knew the answer, but something in him craved to have it confirmed by Jenna. As his patience gradually deteriorated, his clutch on the remote grew stronger and stronger, but even when he felt something pop within it, he did not stop squeezing it.

The weight of the situation felt as though it was weighing Jenna down onto the floor, where it would ultimately squish her against the floor, and fearing Bane's actions, she took a small step back from the door, finally letting go of the frame. Struggling to find her voice, Jenna swallowed, soothing her dry throat, and finally she spoke her answer in a tone just barely above a whisper: "We did..."

She continued to stare at him with furrowed eyebrows, her left hand clutched into a fist where she dug her nails into her palm, and she watched Bane slowly nod to himself before turning his head away from her as he exhaled. He stared ahead blankly at the TV as he spoke.

"Leave," Bane commanded suddenly, and before even giving her a chance to follow his orders the first time, a new-found, sudden rage overtook him. "_Now_," he barked loudly.

Jenna jumped from where she stood, but she wasted no time with backing away from the door to quickly retreat to her own room, and once she was inside, she immediately and quietly shut her door. Keeping her back against it, she let out a shaky breath from between her trembling lips, and her vision blurred as she tried to ignore the sensation of standing on a carousel that was spinning too fast. She closed her eyes, swallowing again, but when she felt tears burning in her eyes she immediately opened them and glanced up, fighting the urge to let them flow freely down her face. Her heart –pounding and racing away– felt as though it had taken a permanent residence in her stomach, where it was also being burnt and eaten away by the strong fear and anxiety that had settled there minutes prior. Her throat grew even more dry, and when she swallowed as she stepped away from her door, the action only burned it more. Her jaw went slack as she made her way over to the cot, wondering wildly what Bane was doing in his room at the moment, and dreading what he would do next.

The remote in Bane's grasp couldn't take the pressure anymore, and with a final popping noise that hadn't reached his ringing ears, the remote cracked and broke into several pieces within his hand, and once he felt this happen, he carelessly let the pieces and batteries fall to the floor next to him. He remained stationary in front of his TV, thousands of thoughts burning his mind, all fighting to be the primary focus, but Bane couldn't settle on a single one. He kept his eyes focused on the TV, his wide, gray orbs staring at the image it contained, until suddenly he turned sharply to his left, and with his fist clenched, he slammed his arm against the various items on top of his dresser, sweeping them onto the floor. The items crashed and clanked to the ground, some cracking and breaking while others bounced before becoming motionless, and as the sound from the crash echoed throughout his room, Bane lifted both his hands to place behind his head, his fingers entwined. His muscles flexed from beneath his shirt as his feet moved to spin him slowly in a circle, his eyes focused on the floor, and he struggled to ignore the adrenalin rush that had completely overtaken his body, enticing him to break something... to break someone...

His own heart pounding in his chest and those shocks continuously stinging his spine and neck were only adding to the rage he felt inside, and he removed his hands from his head to stretch his arms back as far as they would go before he let them crash to his sides. He spun around, facing his door, and without hesitation he immediately stepped over to it to throw it open, needing air, needing space, craving to be somewhere more secluded, although he wasn't entirely sure why.

He stormed through the basement, easily keeping his eyes focused off of the mayor and off of Jenna's door, and each sound from his footfall pounding against the floor seemed amplified. Regardless, he made his way up the stairs quickly, his massive arms swinging wildly on either side of him, and once he reached the exit door, he threw it open to step outside. A cold rush of wind was amongst the first thing that greeted him, but since his body had begun to feel numb long ago, the freezing temperatures didn't faze him in the least bit.

He continued his furious stroll past the garages and around the corner of the furthest garage door on the building, unable to see anything in front of him or in his peripheral vision. Everything was white, empty, still, but he accepted this; he didn't _want _to see anything. A dark blue dumpster was growing rapidly closer and closer to him as his feet carried him over to it, and once he had approached it, he could not stop himself from lifting his foot and slamming the base of it against the dumpster. An obnoxious, thunderous noise sounded and echoed in the vast area around him, and the impact caused the dumpster to slide back slightly on the concrete before settling. All the while, Bane had spun around, his fingers entwined behind his head again, and he struggled to fight off the thoughts, the feelings... but all too soon, they took over him, and Bane knew there was no escaping what he was being forced to face...

His mind replayed him the image of Barsad and Jenna on the screen, with their faces pressed together, but without warning, the TV and the pixeled images faded away until all Bane was seeing were real images of the two together, making it seem as if he had been standing _right there_, watching them. His mind showed him finer details of the two: the leftover tears in Jenna's eyes, her plump, puckered lips against _Barsad's, _the way his hands were placed delicately on her body while she held onto him as well, both of them wrapped together in a moment of desperate, passionate need that would go too far...

A sharper pain stung his heart and traveled up his spine, and an odd weight of rage, confusion, and even the feeling of slight betrayal weighed him down to the point of him sitting down in the snow to lean against the building. The cold from the snow never impacted his body, and he stretched out his legs before him as he let his arms fall onto his lap while he leaned his head back against the building, his eyes sliding shut. He sucked in another sharp breath and exhaled it out loudly through his mask, not only struggling to deal with the images in his mind, but trying to fathom in the slightest bit what, exactly, it was that he was feeling.

He could feel how flushed and hot his face had become, how his eyebrows were permanently furrowed, and how his body trembled as it craved to break and tear away at something due to his rage. He could feel his racing and pounding heart slipping further and further down inside him along with the weight that kept him seated permanently on the ground due to the shock of what he had learned and his confusion. Those shocks continued to sting the back of his neck while the area around him spun, and although the ringing in his ears had finally gone away, he was still unable to hear anything. Bane had seen, heard, and been a part of things that were much, much worse than this discovery... so what was this pain that he was feeling?

_Pain_? He immediately thought to himself. _No... _this_ is _not _pain... this _cannot _be pain... _This was madness in its most simplest form. This was the immediate outcome of rage and betrayal he felt upon discovering something he would have _never _anticipated would happen. This was just... _pain_, his mind demanded.

The corners of his lips tugged down in a large frown, Bane squeezed his eyes shut even more as he moved his head forward before letting it gently slam back against the wall. It wasn't right, he hadn't felt any morsel of physical pain in _years_; he was _immune _to pain, but yet the shards of prickly glass tearing at the inside of his stomach felt all too real. Why was he feeling this way? Why was he even feeling this _pain _to begin with?

_Jenna, _his mind immediately answered his internal questions before he even had time to think it over for even a second. _Jenna is the reason you are acting petulant and brooding out in the snow._

_ No–_

_ Yes. She is the root cause of the anger and confusion you allow yourself to feel. She is the reason for your constant questioning of yourself. Her pathetic state was the reason you ended her mandatory seclusion early. She is the reason you foolishly went back on _your _word to allow Barsad to _help _her again...She is the reason you are allowing yourself to feel this _pain.

_ How can that be? _Bane wondered back. _She is merely a hostage... a piece of trash that was meant to be thrown away..._

_ Clearly you allowed her to become something more, and this is why you are feeling the way you do. _

Bane struggled to ignore his inner voice – the voice that always brought the truth to him, no matter how blunt or even terrifying it really was– but as he struggled to avoid the truth, new thoughts were beginning to pester him. _All the things they must have done... _he thought over and over, but within a minutes time, new and even more terrorizing thoughts occurred to him: _imagine all the things Barsad is able to do that you never could... _

Suddenly, all his previous, conjured scenarios and now new possibilities all began to congeal into an endless, spiraling mass of entangled sweaty limbs, and lustful, sucking mouths. Barsad was able to _kiss _her, to touch Jenna's pink, plump lips with his own, an impossible task that Bane had only ever imaged himself doing. Barsad was able to use his mouth and tongue on her body in ways that Bane never could, and he could feel his head throbbing as he wondered how much Jenna had enjoyed that. Barsad was able to achieve and enjoy another whole sense with Jenna... _taste. _Taste was a sense that had left Bane long ago.

The sudden, inevitable force of the truth his mind had delivered him, the scenarios of new possibilities, and the realization that maybe Jenna _did _mean something more to him, after all, came crashing upon him all at once, and the weight of these disgusting truths caused him bring his legs up before he sat forward, resting his arms on his knees. He couldn't bring himself to necessarily accept this about Jenna, though at the same time the longer he thought of her and Barsad's actions the night before, the more flustered he became. He opened his eyes and stared down at the ground, allowing his mind to run free and wild...

He wondered what that kiss might have felt like to Jenna as he thought back to what he had seen on the TV. He thought back to how _close _they had been standing, how easy it was for them to go back inside and enter his room. Bane closed his eyes again, picturing Jenna trailing her fingernails down Barsad's shoulders and back, and he wondered how that might have felt to him, what satisfaction Jenna may have _finally _gotten upon witnessing Barsad's face morph into an expression of pain, and with _one _hand, nonetheless.

_ This is your fault, _his mind told him suddenly when his stomach clenched up tightly due to the images he was picturing. He imagined Jenna, bare and laying beneath his right hand man, and Barsad hovering over her, leaning down lower and lower... He pictured Barsad's lips against hers, and Jenna digging her nails into his flesh as she pulled him even closer to her... would she have done that though? Was she really that desperate to feel him, and have him _that _close to her?

_You are the reason this even happened, _came the voice again. _What ever existed between you two before, you _enjoyed. _But you became annoyed, and still you could not kill her, because you thought she could still prove to be _'useful'_... _

_ I did what any rational person would have done. I punished her, I kept her away from myself- _

_ You had to _force _it. You didn't want to be away from her... her _pathetic_ punishment was nothing but a desperate act to avoid her, because you knew what was starting to happen..._

_ No–_

_ Face the truth, _he growled to himself. _Had you accepted what was happening, had _you _stepped up to help her and _not _Barsad, _none _of this would be happening. This is all your fault. You care about her. There is no use questioning it, for it'll never make sense. _

_ But I cannot just... _accept _that._

_ ...Maybe you should. _

Bane let out a loud, angry sigh as he bowed his head, realizing this was an internal battle he was going to lose miserably. It made since, though, it had to; why else would he be feeling this way if he _didn't _care about her in someway? _Perhaps I don't care, _he thought now. _Perhaps it's something else that I feel... _

Immediately, images of Jenna and Barsad slammed back into his mind, forcing him to picture that same scenario again. He pictured Jenna's eyes closed, her soft and plump lips parted... he pictured Barsad's lips on her neck, on her shoulder, his tongue tracing her collarbone... He imaged what Jenna's groans and hums would have sounded like as she squeezed her eyes tighter, her mouth falling open, her back arching as Barsad traced his tongue against her body, moving lower, and lower, and lower...

_ARGH! _Bane clenched his fist and slammed it down on the ground next to him as his eyes snapped open, that prickly glass still tearing at his stomach, only now it had grown three times worse.

_Oh, you're in deep, brother, _his mind sneered. _Do not even bother to try and convince yourself... you care about her, and you want her all to yourself... _

Bowing his head again in defeat, Bane closed his eyes, keeping his fist clenched on the cold ground as he clenched his jaw.

_As you should, though, _the voice suddenly said, keeping Bane from falling completely into a miserable hole of defeat. _After all, _you _took her. She belongs to you, whatever title she may carry. She is _yours_... _

Within the depths of the basement sat a shuddering Jenna on top of her cot in her room, her left arm wrapped around her body as she stared down at the concrete floor, illuminated by the lights above. The basement had reached new, freezing temperatures, but this was not the reason Jenna was shaking. The second Bane ordered her away, a new sense of strong dread and anxiety had immediately taken over her completely. She was not sure how long she had been sitting in her room, but her stomach never let loose from it's clenching sensation, and as the minutes ticked on painfully slow, she could almost feel her throat swelling closed as ice chilled her blood. Her lips were parted as she stared at the ground, and every once in a while her tongue would flicker out to the lick them, due to breathing in and out from her mouth.

Now, she realized she had absolutely no idea why she had even thought about attempting to explain the situation to Bane, or why she had even gone to his room. She should have known she wouldn't have been able to get a word in; she could barely even answer his questions in the first place. She wished she would have known how truly terrifying it would have been to stand there watching Bane watch her and Isaac, what they had done, what they had gone inside to do... Just recalling it caused her stomach to clench even tighter. Had she been thinking _at all _the night before, she would have _never _gone through with anything, no matter how badly her body craved it. _This _–this whole thing with _Bane _now– simply wasn't worth it. All she had started to desire at the time was to feel _something_. Isaac's constant questions and attempts to talk to her made her reflect on herself and want to feel anything outside of her numbness, be it pain or pleasure. But now, Jenna found she was feeling both, one falling immediately after the other...

She wondered desperately where Bane had gone and what he was doing. Not even a full minute after returning to her room, she had jumped when she heard various, loud crashing noises come from his room, and at that moment she knew she should fear the worst. She had been granted no time to wonder what he had even done in there, for the second after she heard the crashes, she immediately heard his footsteps against the ground as he stormed out of his room to head up the stairs. She was sure he had gone outside, but she had to wonder... what if he had gone up directly to Isaac's room?

_No_, she thought. _He wouldn't. He wouldn't... _But would he? Just the _idea _of him hurting Isaac made her feel sicker than a dying dog. _It would be all my fault... _She had seen the look that came over his face when he directly asked her about what she and Isaac had done. She knew the crashing sounds were an immediate result of instant rage, as well as how loud his steps were each time his heavy boots slammed against the ground. Although she couldn't be sure as to _why _Bane was furious, she just _knew _he was, and again she had to wonder if he had gone up to Isaac's room, after all.

The thought sent a wave of dizziness over her, and without thinking she immediately stood up, only to pause as she shuddered some more. She once thought that encountering Bane had been shocking. She had been terribly nervous upon facing him and being brought to this warehouse where she learned she would forever stay. She had thought her seclusion in her room would ultimately prove to be as bad as it could possibly ever get, but never did she ever anticipate feeling the way she did now. Terrified for not only her life, but Isaac's as well, anxious over what Bane would do about the situation, sick due to having to live in this moment and face it all, face what _she _had done... All these emotions were bringing on even more painful physical feelings of torment that she could feel ripping her apart from the inside out.

Biting her lip, she turned her body slightly as it began to crave a cigarette, desperate for anything that would prove to calm her nerves and fright, even if in just the slightest. She clenched down harder on her bottom lip, struggling to think it over. A cigarette did sound good –at least smoking it would give her something to do as she impatiently waited out this torment before ultimately finding out what Bane would do– but was she really ready to even face Isaac?

Suddenly, that same, frightening thought began to creep back into her mind. _What if Bane went up there... what if he hurt him... what if he actually _killed_ him? _

Jenna immediately released her lip as she clenched her eyes closed. She would not be able to live with herself if Isaac died, especially if it was due to something that _she _had encouraged. Cigarette or not, she _had _to find out if he was okay, even if that meant running into Bane...

Once she approached her door, she turned the handle before slowly easing it open. Her eyes instantly flickered over to Bane's door, which was completely open, the light from the TV illuminating the room and a small space outside of it, and as her heart began to pound against her chest, Jenna sucked in a deep, sharp breath before she opened her door all the way to step outside of her room. The light from her own room dimly illuminated the majority of the basement in front of her, and as she fought through her dread and worry of what she would discover, she took another shaking step toward the stairs. So badly she wished she could retreat to her room and hide away in there, and avoid everything, but she had never felt so determined to make sure that somebody was okay. This was primarily, if not entirely, all her fault. Even if she feared it, _she _should be the one suffering, not Isaac.

As she started up the stairs, slowly, her mind went rampant, flashing her all sorts of different images that she may have the displeasure of witnessing as soon as she found Isaac. She pictured his bedroom door to be fully open, and she imagined the site of his blood painted on the walls and stained into the carpet, Bane's back to her as he struggled to calm his rage after he had taken out his anger on his right hand man. Once she reached the top of the stairs, she hesitated before stepping forward to continue her walk in the hallway, imagining what it would be like if she _heard _the deed happening behind his closed door. _"This is all your doing, Jenna," _Bane would say after he opened the door to find her standing there. _"_You _brought this fate on him." _It would be just like her nightmare... only this time it would be the harshest reality she would have ever faced.

But what if it wouldn't be that simple? She _knew _Bane to be furious; what if he really took his time with the deed, and allowed his anger and rage to drag out and pulsate strongly in his veins? What if he was to kill Isaac slowly, and force Jenna to watch, to make her feel even worse and terrified than she already did, all while knowing there was _nothing _she could do to stop it. As she began to turn the corner of the hallway, her eyes falling on the ladder, she bit down on her lip again as her hands began to shake. What if Bane was in there now, waiting for her?

She grabbed the ladder with her left hand, and it trembled fiercely as she struggled to start up the ladder. Now, the images of blood, hurt, and torture had become so strong and vivid, Jenna felt as though she had already witnessed it all. Just when she barely reached the top of the ladder, she was certain she should begin to expect the worse...

Isaac's door was closed, and as soon as she stood up on the platform now, her entire body trembling, she stepped up to the door. She reached out her closed fist to knock, but before her hand could touch the wood, she pulled it back, swallowing as she did so. She wasn't ready to see Bane. She wasn't ready to see Isaac mutilated. If only she had tried harder to explain things to Bane... if only she had immediately told him what had happened in efforts to avoid all of this... if only she had held herself back the night before...

Another dizzy spell overcame her as soon as she left a few, gentle knocks on the door. After she let her arm hang at her side, she swallowed again as she waited, terrified that she would not receive an answer. Would it be a good thing if nobody inside responded, or prove to be a terrible thing? Perhaps Isaac had already gone outside, and avoided Bane... or perhaps Bane was already inside...

A short minute later, Jenna heard some sort of shuffling around the inside of the room. For a moment, a small shock of relief rang through her heart, but her mind was not going to let her have this victory. As she listened to the shuffling, which had grown louder now, she immediately pictured Bane picking up Isaac's lifeless frame. Somebody was walking toward the door now, she could hear their footsteps against the floor, and she was _positive _now that as soon as the door opened, Bane would throw Isaac's bloody body at her. She'd gawk in horror, unsure if she should hold onto Isaac or get away from the blood, and as soon as she'd look up to Bane, he'd speak: _"You brought this fate on him, Jenna. This is all your fault..."_

_ My fault, my fault, my fault, _the words echoed on and on in her head as her shaking got worse. She heard a hand on the knob of the door now, and she held still, ice freezing over her entire body, and she listened to the handle turn. But when the door opened, she was not greeted by Bane, or a bloody, broken and lifeless Isaac. Rather, she stared, completely shocked, at a very alive, and a very sleepy-looking Isaac, and before she could even think about stopping herself, she sprang forward to him, knocking the door out of his grasp before it banged against the wall.

"Oh, thank _God!_" Were the first words out of Jenna's mouth as she began to wrap her arm around him, her body close to his, but as soon as she felt the skin that covered his bare torso, she immediately recoiled back. Her jaw dropped as her eyes raised up to meet his while flashes of his naked body hovering over hers played in her mind suddenly. Standing nearly two feet away from him now, Jenna breathed in deeply, completely stunned by her actions, but also immenselyrelieved to see Isaac was alive.

Meanwhile, Isaac couldn't help but to stare at her with wide eyes, as well. He had already started waking up nearly an hour ago, but his body had refused to let him get out of his bed. So rather, he stayed there, partly awake, partly still sleeping, but as soon as he heard the knocks on his door he was slightly pleased to have a reason to get out of bed, although just staying in it all day sounded nice too.

Once he threw on a pair of sweats, he shuffled over to the door, positive Bane would not be on the other side it, and primarily sure it would not be Jenna either, but as soon as he opened the door, and was greeted by Jenna springing forward to hug him, surprise had completely overtaken him, and now he wasn't sure of what to say or do as he stared back at her.

"...uh–" was the first noise that stumbled out of his mouth as a strong, thick tension began to surround them, but fortunately, before he could force himself to say anything intelligible, Jenna had started to speak up.

"Um... can I, uh... get a cigarette?" She stumbled around for the right words to speak as her heart raced, not only in relief, but also due to the pure awkwardness that had overcome her, and clearly Isaac, as well. He stared at her for another moment, his features calming down a bit before he nodded slightly.

"Yeah," he mumbled, realizing he should have figured this would be the reason Jenna had gone to him. Truth was, he was just surprised she even had. He had been so sure that she would do everything in her power to avoid him –hell, _he _was ready to begin avoiding her as well– but now he realized this would prove, yet again, to be an impossible feat. He began away from the frame of the door, still confused on her actions when he had first opened the door, and something deep down inside of him made him think that her actions were a direct result from something that Bane had done or said...

When Isaac turned to head over to his nightstand, Jenna remained outside of his door, having no desire whatsoever to follow him inside, but as soon as her eyes found his bed, a cold shock ran up her spine and flowed throughout her body. Instantly, memories from the night before flooded her mind again, stronger this time, making her remember _exactly _how it had felt to have been laying there with him on top of her. She stared at the bed for a short moment longer, taking in the site of crooked pillows and messy blanket mounds, but fortunately Isaac returning to the door snapped her out of her daze. Once he stopped at the door, she tore her eyes away from the bed and glanced up at him before dropping her gaze to his hand, which was currently holding his box of cigarettes and a lighter out toward her. She reached out to accept them, being careful not to brush his hand with her fingers, and once she had taken the items she let her arm go limp at her side again as Isaac took a small step back, his eyes focused on the floor now.

That same, awkward tension remained strong, and as Jenna stood before him, still unable to fathom what had gone on between the two the night prior, she felt the need now to inform Isaac of the developing situation. She shifted her weight from her left foot to her right, and after she had cleared her throat, Isaac glanced up to look at her. She stared into his half-lidded eyes for a moment, feeling dizzy again, and after she swallowed she finally spoke.

"He knows..."

Isaac had figured this, he had _known _Bane would find out as quickly as possible, but yet he could not stop his eyebrows from raising as his eyes widened, and his next words would prove to be utterly pointless. "He knows?" He repeated, the slightest bit of shock laced in his voice, but a second later he forced his face to relax as he nodded, more so to himself, confirming that he already had guessed this.

Jenna nodded as she glanced down now. "Yeah... he uh, found out this morning. He saw go down to the basement... He watched us get back last night from the diner on his TV, from a _camera_ that I guess is set up outside somewhere," she trailed on, but when she glanced up, she saw Isaac had closed his eyes as he leaned back slightly while reaching his hand up to rest on the door frame.

_The cameras, _he thought to himself. _Fuck!_ How could he have forgotten about the Goddamn _cameras!? He _had been the one who had installed the vast majority of them! How could he have been stupid?

"I-I'm sorry," Jenna was going now as she watched him. "I didn't know about the cameras, and when he asked me if we did I couldn't lie to him... I can't go back to... I'm scared that... I-"

"It's not your fault," Isaac assured now once he opened his eyes, and he ran his hand through his hair as he glanced over to the left. _If anything it's _my _fault, _he thought. _He _had been the one to give in to his sudden emotions, _he _had been the one to kiss her and initiate everything, _he _had been the one to bring her up to his room, and _he _had been the one to go through it just as much as she had. But most importantly, _he _had been the one to _betray _Bane...

This thought caused him to sigh as he ran his hand over his hair again, this time going the opposite way, and when he let his arm hang lose at his side his hair was messily sticking up now.

"What's he doing?" Isaac asked her now, hating the conversation they were having that was becoming inevitable. He didn't want to discuss last night or its repressions, and he knew Jenna most certainly did not want to either. But it was something that was one-hundred percent unavoidable now.

"I don't know," Jenna replied honestly with a small shrug. "I think he went outside somewhere, though." Isaac nodded slightly while Jenna glanced away, both of them growing quiet, both of them entirely sure of what to say now. After a long and strong troublesome moment had passed, Jenna glanced up as she held up the cigarettes in her hand slightly. "Thanks... for these," she said. "Did you wanna come out too?" She felt the need to ask.

A morning cigarette did sound appetizing, especially now more than ever, but without even having to think it through Isaac was shaking his head. "No thanks... I might be out later..." He believed strongly in the fact that, after learning what they had done, that chancing Bane seeing them together would prove to only worsen the situation even more. It was clear to him that avoiding Jenna again was out of the question... but for right now, until all of this was sorted out and he'd learn what Bane was planning to do about it, keeping his distance from Jenna would prove to be one of the smartest things he could do right now. And he figured that Jenna felt the same way.

Jenna nodded. "Yeah, I understand," she said, confirming his theory. "Thank you."

Isaac gave her final nod before he began to close his door while Jenna turned to start down the ladder, deciding it would be a good idea to get her coat before venturing outside.

After obtaining her coat and sliding it on, as soon as Jenna opened the exit door, she began to immediately wonder if she _really _even wanted to go outside in the first place. A blanket of sparkling, pure while snow covered the ground, and in the sky the clouds were clustered but distinct, appearing in the form of various cotton balls all bunched together, the morning sun rising behind them. As a small breeze blew past, she noticed all the garage doors were closed, and she knew that she smoking a cigarette would not only help to calm her nerves a little bit, but also standing outside while doing it would only freeze her body completely. Frowning, she pulled out a cigarette from the box before placing it in her pocket, and she held onto the cigarette and lighter in her hand before she finally took a step outside.

The slight breeze blew her hair behind her as she trudged through the snow, and the closer she got to the garage, the more she began to wish she could sit inside of it, mere inches away from that space heater. But once she approached the garage, she realized being warm was the least of her worries right now. Bane was more than likely somewhere out here, somewhere around her, and while half of her wished she knew where he was exactly, the other half of her was relieved with not knowing, and not having to see him.

She placed the cigarette in between her lips and held the lighter up, but as soon as she tried to light it, another breeze blew past, extinguishing the flame, and after struggling through this a few more times, she let out a frustrated sigh as she turned to huddle in the corner in between the garage door and wall, protecting the lighter from the wind. Once she had lit her cigarette, she took a long, hard hit before she whipped the cigarette out of her mouth, and she held onto it at her side as she exhaled noisily, the smoke flowing away in the breeze. As her legs shook, she glanced down, wishing she could sit down somewhere, but she did not want to sit directly in the cold and wet down. Her frown deepening, she took another hit from her cigarette as she glanced out toward the snow-covered field, Bane creeping into her thoughts again.

Where had he gone? What was he doing? What was he thinking? What was he thinking about _doing_? Who would he go after? It made sense that he would go after _somebody_, didn't it? But _who_? It would be so easy for him to place the blame on Jenna; Bane had taken her, and in a sense Jenna belonged to _him_. Would Bane see what she and Isaac had done as an action of betrayal?

At that thought, an even worse, sickening thought occurred to her. _Betrayal_, she thought again. She hadn't been the one to betray Bane... he had already made it clear that he was done with her, despite his actions to sometimes talk to her... but Isaac... realistically, Isaac had been the one to betray his commander. Isaac had slept with Bane's _property_, without his permission. Isaac had gotten overly intimate with Jenna, without Bane even _knowing _about, and Isaac hadn't even been the one to tell him.

"Oh, my God," Jenna mumbled to herself as she idly flicked her cigarette in her hand with her thumb, ashing it. Bane _would _go after Isaac. The only question now was _how_, and what would happen?

Swallowing, Jenna took a small step back to lean against the chilled garage door, but she ignored the temperature of it against her head and back as she shuddered in fright. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. Isaac shouldn't be the one to suffer due to something that Jenna had carried the blame for for a long time. Once she was freed from her punishment, all she had desired was Isaac's company. Granted he _had _helped her, she realized now, she almost found herself wishing she would have continued to shut him out, regardless of how bad she had wanted to feel something, until eventually he would have given up trying, and she would have been alone again. She would have been miserable, but at least Isaac's life wouldn't be at stake.

She closed her eyes as she shook her head slightly, and she had to wonder when her life had become so complicated. When had her simple lifestyle of luxury turned into such a deep and puzzling nightmare? It seemed like it was only yesterday that she was returning home from a huge shopping trip before sneaking out of her house hours later to attend a party with Rodger. It seemed like only yesterday she was arguing with her mother, and _wrongly _complaining about how miserable her life was then. A small grin cracked Jenna's lips as she opened her eyes. _Yeah right_, she thought. _You had _no _idea how terrible it was gonna get someday. _Had she ever known, at any point, that she'd be stuck in this situation, right here and now, the 'old' Jenna would have never complained again.

_Yes you would have_, Jenna immediately thought sourly as she took another drag. _You always complain. You always need help. You always need somebody there to share your trouble... _now _look __what this trait has brought upon you. _Jenna was facing the strong chance of losing the _only _person who had ever truly helped her, and actually, really liked her, all because of the fact that she had craved his company. If only she had known the danger she would have been putting him in.

She could fear tears burning in her eyes, but she would not let any fall. What good would crying do? What good would _anything _do now? She had blown her chances of explaining the situation to Bane, she had ruined any small chances of defending Isaac. Now, she found herself almost wishing that she _could _see Bane, just to try to explaining it all to him again. But would he even listen to her? Would he even listen to anybody about it, at all?

Suddenly, something Isaac had once told her entered her mind, and she bit her lip as she thought back to what he had said. "_All Bane could stand to do was lock you in your room as a means of punishment, and from there all he did was avoid you." _Was that true though? Was that _really _all Bane could stand to do when he was angry at Jenna. The question _why _had entered her mind, but even more so, if this was true, then Bane _would _go after Isaac before he'd ever do anything to her...

Shaking her head, Jenna closed her eyes as she let out a small sigh. _"Bane is man of quick, rational action. If a thought crosses his mind, he'll consider it, and if he likes it, he'll perform it. He doesn't procrastinate or prolong things longer than necessary," _Isaac had told her during that same conversation. This caused her stomach to clench uncomfortably tightly again, and Jenna tensed her jaw. If _this _was true, which she was positive it was, then Bane was more than likely planning on what to do with Isaac _right now_. Suddenly, Isaac getting hurt in one way or another seemed inevitable...

Sickened and terrified by these thoughts, Jenna threw her half-finished cigarette away from her and into the snow, where it quickly burnt out, and she instantly started toward the exit door, cold and fearful of what would happen to Isaac. She wished there was _some _way she could help him, someway that _she _could protect him, but really, whatever decision Bane made was out of her hands. There was nothing she could do, and Jenna knew the sooner she accepted this, perhaps sooner all of this would end...

–

Too much time had passed since Bane had gone and sat outside, and once the desire to go back inside had entered his mind, he realized he was still entirely unsure of what to do about anything. He was confused, disgustingly _hurt_, and his head hadn't stopped spinning since he watched that footage. He desired a plan, or at least the smallest of ideas on what to do to enter his mind, but it was blank, and only carried thoughts of hurt, betrayal, and most of all, Jenna.

As a stronger gust of wind blew past, Bane finally forced himself to stand. He leaned over and placed his hand directly on the ground, and he placed all of his weight on it as he slowly stood. Once he was up, he stared ahead at the field for a moment, struggling to decide on what to do. A part of him had already decided that nobody needed to be punished, especially after he had decided that perhaps this _was _all his fault, entirely. Though another part of him was strongly reminding him that in truth, Barsad _had _betrayed him... Jenna was Bane's. He wasn't sure what that meant or how he meant it, but in some sort of way, she _was _his property. Barsad knew this, he had respected this and never crossed boundaries, but last night he had. And it seemed as though he didn't even have the decency to tell Bane, himself. A small part of him wondered if this was accidental, Barsad had always been straight up and truthful with him... but now, what if he was too _scared _to have faced him? Barsad had lied to him once, and after he had years prior, Bane was _sure _he would never lie to him again.

It was all too confusing. A part of Bane was desperate to hurt _somebody, _but another, slightly smaller rational side was begging him to think it over more clearly. He would not prolong these thoughts, however. A decision had to be made, and it had to be made fast. He couldn't let them get away this... he just couldn't.

A garage door opening on the adjacent side of the building tore him away from his thoughts, but for this he was slightly thankful. He desired returning inside, and perhaps if he was in the warmth of his room now, he'd be able to think more clearly. Wiping his wet hand on his pants, he turned to walk in the direction he had come from, his heart still pounding, his head still spinning, the thoughts still provoking him. Half of him blamed himself while the other, more hurt side was blaming Barsad. But before he could wonder why he had absentmindedly decided that Jenna was no longer a factor in all this, the second he turned the corner, standing nearly thirty to forty feet from him, he found himself coming face to face with Barsad... Both men had paused, their eyes fixed intently on each other's, and as Isaac's heart began to race, more hurt swarmed in Bane's veins, causing him to clench his right fist, and suddenly all he could see was Barsad standing directly in front of him...

* * *

**Oh... snap son. WHAT WILL HAPPEN! I wanna read some predictions in those reviews ;)  
Also a major thank you, as per usual, to my beta ****_Loretta Lolita_**, who really helped me out with some specific quotes and wording in regards to Bane's thought process :)  



	23. Mind Over Body

Everything in Bane's peripheral vision faded away rapidly until all he was seeing was Isaac standing alone, in a sea of white, with his arms hanging lamely at his sides. Bane's right eye twitched slightly, those same, unruly scenarios playing in his head again, and his fingers twitched absentmindedly at his sides as he was forced to face those images of Isaac's mouth against Jenna's body ...

Isaac had frozen completely, as well, shocked to see that Bane had been outside, just around the corner, this entire time. As much as he hated the feeling of any sort of dizzying fear, the sensation of falling began to overtake him, but he refused to let this emotion show as he stared at Bane from the current, safe distance they maintained.

Suddenly, memories from his and Bane's last encounter like years ago this swarmed his mind, and he thought back to how truly terrified he had been upon facing Bane after he had lied to him. Only now, the situation was looking to be much, much more problematic. At one time, Bane had lashed out at him instantly for his betrayal, without any warning whatsoever, and Isaac remembered how it had felt to feel the life draining from him as he gasped for air, Bane's crushing grasp around his neck bringing him closer and closer to death as he was forced to stare into his commander's eyes while it happened. But now, Isaac had a terrible sinking feeling that Bane's next actions wouldn't be so simple.

His heart began to pick up speed the longer he stared at Bane, just standing there, staring at him. Isaac held his ground though, feeling as though any movement at all would only provoke Bane further, and as he kept his eyes on Bane, he realized he hadn't felt this kind of fear toward his boss in a long, long time. He hated how fearful he had started to feel, but he couldn't help but wish Bane would move or say something to him, just to give him an idea of horrendous this was going to be.

That spinning sensation had crept up on Bane again, but he struggled to ignore it as he held his own ground, completely unsure of what to do. _Don't do anything_, his mind told him. _This is _your _fault, remember? _

_ Perhaps, _Bane replied, still unsure. _But clearly something _has _to be done._

_ What for? You brought this on yourself. Had you never broken Jenna's arm, had you never locked her away, and had you never allowed Barsad to help her so thoroughly, this wouldn't have happened. This is all an immediate result due to your timid actions._

At his side, Bane's fingers twitched again, curling in slightly to start to form a fist as agitation swarmed his body, but he stopped the clench from happening, and instead forced his fingers to remain stretched stiffly outward. A small gust of wind blew past, perhaps a sign prompting Bane to move, to do something, but he remained stationary, his mind refusing to let him move until he had even the slightest idea of what to do.

_If you feel so strongly on the fact that something must be done, just wait... plan it out. You have given yourself a reputation lately as acting immensely irrational with your quick decisions. Look at you, starting to cripple with near _regret_ over what you did to Jenna. Do not make any rash decisions. You _need _Barsad. You nearly killed him once already... _

Bane swallowed, his body desperate to ignore his thoughts, but they were too strong, and had taken completely control of him. In the back of his mind, however, the idea of inflicting _some _sort of pain on Barsad had never gone unnoticed, but really, Bane began to realize, what good would that do?

_He betrayed me, _Bane thought now, his body becoming desperate again to move, to lash out, to damage...

_Not necessarily. If it _was _betrayal, there would have had to have been some sort of grounds, some sort of determined rule spoken aloud that Jenna _was _yours, and was not to be touched. _You _never made that assertion, _you _never told Barsad what would and would not be accepted... _you _allowed him to get closer to her, and even when you saw it happening, you did _nothing! His mind hissed loudly.

Finally, Bane's right hand clenched into a tight fist as his jaw tensed. _Barsad should have known. He's smarter that. He _knows _how things work around here, around _me_. I shouldn't have to speak every rule aloud. This _was _an act of betrayal, and the worst kind yet! _

At this thought, the other half of his mind went silent, and when he could not think of another reply to himself, he loosened his fist slightly, suddenly realizing that without that second thought, he really had no idea, even more so, on what to do. His body was ready to lurch forward, but even though it had gone silent, his mind continued to hold him back.

Isaac wished he could hear what was going on in Bane's mind, what was causing him to stay stationary where he stood, what he thought of the situation, and what he was planning on doing about it. Had it been anyone else to have gotten so intimate with Jenna, Isaac knew what Bane would have done, without a doubt. He understood that when it came down to him, Bane's right hand man, it was a million times more complicated... but... was it really?

_Still an act of betrayal, _Isaac thought. _Regardless of who did it. Man up, take responsibility, and face what will come your way. The sooner the better... _

This idea sounded good and even primarily desirable, but Isaac could not make himself open his mouth to speak, or even move his body. He wanted to, but he realized at the same time, he had no idea what to even say to Bane about the situation. But before long, Bane suddenly took a step forward, and Isaac found himself swallowing as he watched Bane approach.

As he walked, Bane forced his hand to become unclenched again, and he forcibly kept his fingers stretched out and wriggling slightly as he advanced toward Isaac. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't know what he was going to do once he approached him. He had simply just started moving, and advancing forward with a steady pace. He kept his eyes focused on his right hand man, his features growing clearer and clearer the closer Bane got to him, and once he was a little more than ten feet away, the anxiety was evident in Isaac's eyes and stiff frame. Bane took another step, and another, growing closer and closer, his fingers wriggling even faster now, desperate to clench in a fist as his left hand began to twitch as well. Ten feet, nine feet... eight feet...

What would he do when he approached him? Would his mind prove to be victorious, or his body? Isaac was standing his ground, watching him advance, not even looking away or stepping back from him as a means of even the slightest defense...

Seven feet... six feet... _five feet... _

Without warning, Bane's feet suddenly turned to the right, and just before he could even approach Isaac, Bane had started walking toward the exit door instead, his eyes now fixed intently on it. As he passed Isaac now, Bane could almost hear the breath of relief he released as Isaac more than likely closed his eyes. It had been a last minute decision that Bane wasn't even prepared to do or had even seen coming, but as he continued away, the spinning sensation had not ceased, his fingers had not stopped twitching, and adrenaline had not stopped flowing throughout his veins.

Isaac slouched his body down slightly, completely shocked with these turn of events. When Bane had started approaching him, he had been so sure of what he would do, what pain he would inflict... but this was completely unexpected. He listened to Bane's heavy footsteps in the snow as he slowly continued away, and before he could think it over, Isaac was turning around to face him.

"Bane," he suddenly called out his name, and he froze again when Bane came to a sudden halt in his path, less than ten feet from him. The muscles on his back appeared tense from beneath his shirt, and as Bane waited, he kept his shoulders raised and his head lowered, his eyes focused on the exit door still. Just at the sound of his voice, his hands finally won, and his fingers curled in on each hand, forming tight fists that were begging to be used, but Bane firmly held his ground.

"I... I don't know what to say... about all this," Isaac finally spoke, his eyes still fixed on Bane's giant frame. His eyes wandered down to take notice of Bane's trembling and tight fists, but regardless, he remained where he stood, just waiting, ready to face whatever came his way...

Bane lowered his eyes from the door to stare down at the snow-covered ground for a moment, the breath escaping through his mask seeming amplified as compared to the silence all around the warehouse. "I'm just surprised you said anything at all, Barsad," he replied in a shockingly low and controlled tone of voice, and before Isaac could say anything else, Bane continued his walk toward the exit door, Isaac's eyes on him the entire time.

The temperature inside the warehouse felt more blistering hot than it did warm and welcoming, and as the heat only added to the dizzying sensations he had already been feeling, Bane reached down to swiftly remove his shirt with one, smooth, upward lifting motion, and as he descended the stairs he carelessly let the shirt fall onto the steps. Just as he knew it would, removal of his shirt proved to help, and as soon as he stepped down in the dark basement, the cooler temperatures flowed over his bare skin as he started toward his room. But just as he started past Jenna's door, small curiosity caused him to turn his head ever so slightly to follow the light trail on the floor to her room, but as soon as he did, he found himself not looking away. She was standing at the foot of her cot, just in front of her open door, her back to him as she struggled with putting on her arm sling. As Bane continued to his door, he kept his eyes focused on her, watching her struggle, but as soon as his boot accidentally scraped against the ground, Jenna jumped before immediately glancing over her shoulder with raised, surprised eyebrows. Bane's eyes locked with hers for a split second before he forced himself to look forward just as he entered his room, and as soon as he had, he threw his door closed behind him.

Jenna couldn't help but to jump again as the slamming noise from Bane's door echoed throughout the cold and dark basement, and she felt her face flush due to the surprise of seeing Bane, and the shock of seeing him suddenly shirtless, for that matter. Giving up easily on her sling as those feelings of dread overtook her again, she tossed the sling onto her cot with a small huff as she wondered anxiously if Bane had already gotten to Isaac. Just a few moments prior, she had heard footsteps in the hallway, followed by the exit door opening and closing, and without a doubt she knew it was Isaac. Bane had not come back inside until now –she hadn't even heard him approaching, strangely enough – and now Jenna was beginning to expect the worse. What if Isaac would never be coming back inside...?

Taking her bottom lip in between her teeth, Jenna bit down on it as she slowly turned around completely to face her opened door. All she could picture in her mind was crimson-colored snow surrounding Isaac's cold body as he lay, face down, on the ground, with no hope of standing up on his own. Her mind flashed her a picture of his face, broken, battered and bruised, his already half-lidded gaze even stronger due to swollen eyes that could not be opened all the way. Her heart began to pound against her chest the longer she wracked her brain, wondering desperately what had happened outside. When she had laid eyes on Bane, he had appeared deathly angry, with clenched fists and hardened muscles, and the fact that he had slammed his door hadn't helped either. Now, Jenna was expecting the worst, and suddenly discovering whether her terrible visions were true or not had become an unavoidable desire.

But rather than venturing outside to find Isaac, she found herself exiting her room and marching straight up to Bane's door, and only after she stopped in front of it did she take notice to where she was. Realizing it was too late to turn back now –Bane had more than likely heard somebody approaching– Jenna also realized that seeing Isaac at a time like this probably wasn't a good idea. Finally releasing her swollen lip from between her teeth, she took in a big, steadying breath before she lifted her fist, but before her knuckles could touch the wooden door, she paused, leaving her fist raised in the air. Her heart began to pound faster as her throat swelled, and once again the room began to spin, even harder this time. She did _not _want to face Bane, especially not now when he appeared to be so amped up on anger. But she _had _to find out what he had done to Isaac, and if he hadn't done anything (which seemed very unlikely) she felt the strong obligation to prevent any harm from reaching Isaac. She had to face Bane, and she had to do it quickly, otherwise Isaac's life was at stake. Attempting to swallow back her fear, Jenna finally left two, quiet knocks on Bane's door.

As soon as she had knocked she immediately lowered her hand and waited, growing more and more fearful as she waited for an answer. But much to her surprise, after a long minute had passed, an answer never came. She wondered if Bane had not heard her knock, or was simply choosing to ignore it. Either way, Jenna knew she _had_ to talk to him. She had to help Isaac.

With another deep breath Jenna knocked on the door again, louder this time, and just before her fist could collide with the door a forth time, it suddenly swung open, revealing Bane's massive figure. As soon as Jenna overcame the shock, she lowered her hand again as her eyes wandered up his chest, and she paused, her mouth hanging open slightly once she found his eyes on either side of his animalistic mask. What, exactly, was she going to say?

Bane's breathing was loud as he silently waited to see what Jenna wanted. Just seeing her, standing in front of him, was enough for the room to spin faster while the weight of her and Isaac's actions pressed down upon his shoulders, making him feel as though he was sinking pathetically into ground. He lowered his eyes slightly onto her neck, but once he saw that red bite mark again, a sting traveled throughout him, and he immediately raised his eyes to look back into Jenna's. He could feel his body starting to tremble as the anger and hurt overcame him again, and that weight on his shoulders grew even stronger when he was suddenly forced to think back to the scenarios he had come up with. He didn't want to see Jenna, whatever it was she had to say. Honestly, he didn't want to see anyone at the moment, especially when he was left feeling so confused.

He began to slide the door closed, deciding his mind was made up, but just when the door had nearly completely blocked her out, her small voice suddenly reached his ears.

"Wait," Jenna said, instinctively reaching out to stop Bane from closing the door completely. With a loud, frustrated sigh, Bane opened the door again, still desperate to be away from her, but also slightly surprised with her sudden bravery. The seconds ticked on painfully slow as Jenna struggled to find her words, but all she could focus on was Isaac's mangled body, growing colder and colder outside. She dropped her jaw more, preparing herself to speak, but she continued to feel absolutely overwhelmed with how giant and angry Bane appeared to be as his burning gaze remained fixed on hers.

"What do you want, Jenna?" Bane finally asked, the lack of patience evident in his quieter than usual voice. This was surprising to Jenna, but his tone only reinforced what she already knew: she had to talk to him _now_.

"Did... did you see Isaac outside?"

Her question caused Bane to take in a deep breath through his nose as he kept his eyes focused on Jenna's, and he tightened his grip on the door.

"I did," he replied slowly. "Does this conversation have a greater purpose, Jenna?"

Jenna swallowed, already deciding to expect the worst as hope that Isaac was okay began to recede away rapidly. She licked her lips, trying to speak again, but the words would not come to her mouth. Instead, as the room continued to spin and her heart continued to race, the weight of the bad news she was expecting to receive caused her to glance down and close her eyes. Bane's eyebrows furrowed as his eyes followed her motion of lowering her head, but despite his deteriorating patience, he waited.

"Did you hurt him?" Jenna asked finally in a saddened mumble, and she clenched her eyes closed even tighter as she waited for his confirmation.

It shouldn't have been, but it was almost surprising to Bane how deeply hurt Jenna appeared to be over Barsad's well-being. _Your fault... _his mind taunted. _You allowed this relationship to develop... _

_ Fine_, Bane gave in easily and suddenly. But what did he do _now_? He sighed before he suddenly let his hand slide off of the door, and as it hit his side, Jenna glanced up.

"No," he replied. "I didn't." _Perhaps I should have..._

Jenna's eyes widened in pure shock, and as relief for the time being swarmed over her, she hadn't even noticed that Bane had turned around to step over to his desk and lean over it, bracing himself against it with his hand. When she finally blinked her eyes, they focused on his hunched over, bare and scarred back, and although Bane had said he hadn't hurt him, Jenna knew this conversation wasn't over. There was still the chance that Bane would go and hurt him now, especially after Jenna had made her strong, fearful feelings toward the situation more evident than she had meant.

Swallowing again, Jenna absentmindedly took a small step under the door frame and into his room, and she entwined her fingers together in front of her as she tried to figure out what to say. _Just say anything. Tell him the truth. Keep him from hurting Isaac... this wasn't his fault. _

"I-if you're planning on hurting him... don't," Jenna finally said, her words causing Bane to furrow his brow again. "It wasn't his fault..." she finally continued on, and she closed her eyes as she took in a nervous breath. Her next words could prove to be her ultimate downfall, but the strong desire to defend Isaac had not left her, and Jenna realized it was a feeling that never would. "...it was mine."

The pen that he had picked up from his desk and had been toying with in between his fingers ceased movement, and Bane's eyes narrowed due to her words. He found himself having a hard time comprehending them as a wave of confusion swept over him. Was Jenna _really _blaming herself for all of this? Was she really putting herself in the line of fire to defend somebody other than herself? It was such a difficult truth to believe that Bane decided it was something he couldn't accept, but nonetheless, he decided to question it, even though the majority of him was ready for her to still leave...

Blinking once, he leaned up quickly as he noisily tossed the pen back onto the desk, and he turned around, his eyes immediately finding Jenna's. She appeared frightful suddenly, more so than she had been, and when he took a steady step closer to her, he watched her take a miniscule step back as she swallowed. The voice in the back of his mind was still reminding him that this wasn't her fault, it was _his_, but he couldn't escape the sudden curiosity that had overtaken him. "And how do you figure that, Jenna?"

His low and metallic voice seemed to be more frightening at the moment than ever, and Jenna took in another deep, steadying breath before she answered, hating how incredibly large and intimidating he seemed to have become in just mere seconds. She realized the danger she was putting herself in, and his simple question caused her to wonder if it really _was _all her fault, even when she had been so sure that it was. Whether it was or wasn't, she knew she had to take the blame. She wasn't ready to see Isaac get killed just for trying to help her.

"B-because I..." she struggled, desperate for the words to come to her mouth, and she bowed her head slightly. When she heard Bane take another step toward her, however, her head immediately shot up, and she took another small step back toward his door as she looked him in the eye. "Because I initiated it," she finally said, but when she saw Bane's eyebrows lower and his eyes narrow, she felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

"Is that so?" Bane mused, still wondering in the back of his mind why he was even having this discussion in the first place. "I _watched _the footage, Jenna. _He _kissed you." He felt absolutely ridiculous as the conversation went on, but he knew there was no other way to say what had to be said. "It didn't appear to me that _you _initiated it..."

As soon as he spoke, his voice rough, but laced with the tiniest bit of sadness, realization finally swarmed over Jenna, making her see suddenly just how truly _upset _Bane was about all of this. It all made sense now; how he had kicked her out of his room when he found out, how he had stayed outside for a while, and now was willing to have this conversation with her. But how could that be? _Why _was this even an issue in the first place, for Jenna at least? Dizzy with this new understanding, Jenna blinked a few times before she finally cleared her throat to speak.

"No, I mean I wanted to go inside– I asked him to go inside with me, after–"

"It was an act that required the equal efforts of _two_," Bane interrupted impatiently. "Whoever initiated it simply does not matter. What matters is the fact that it _happened_," he ended with a slight growl. "To be honest Jenna, I do not wish to have this conversation with you, or anyone for that matter. Lea–"

"It does matter," Jenna interrupted, speaking before she could hold herself back, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she watched Bane straighten his posture slightly as his gaze became even more burning. "_I'm _the one who wanted it. _I'm _the one who asked to go inside, and I'm the one who had more of the responsibility to stop it." She stopped suddenly to take in a breath, feeling about ready to collapse to the floor due to her interruption and the current, angry and annoyed look in Bane's eyes, but before Bane could have an opportunity to speak, Jenna went on again, suddenly unable to stop herself from speaking what was on her mind before Bane permanently ended the conversation, and all hope of saving Isaac's life. "To be honest with _you_, I wasn't exactly feeling myself. I haven't been for nearly the past two months. Isaac was helping me, he was the _only _one helping me, or just even _speaking _to me, and I guess I got confused with the type of help I wanted...I guess I was–"

"Are you telling me you are unable to distinguish the very _different _aspects of simply wanting _help_ and having the desire to _fuck _somebody?!" Bane interrupted with a shout that caused Jenna's blood to run cold. The room became deathly silent for a small second as the two glared into each others eyes, and suddenly Jenna could not hold herself back as her body began to tremble.

"I was _desperate, _okay? After all that _you _fucking put me through! I wanted to feel again, I wanted to feel _anything, _and if the only thing I could obtain to feel was lust, then so be it. But do not think for a _second _that I can't tell the difference between how I'm feeling, despite all the torture you put me though." She let out a huff of a breath as her body went from trembling to shaking as soon as she realized she had just _yelled _at Bane, but she had been pushed to the point of doing so. "You're not listening to me, I–"

"I'm giving you three seconds to leave," Bane interrupted, those glass shards tearing away at the inside of his stomach again as he glared into her eyes. "One... _two–"_

Finally, Jenna took a step back out of his room, and she could feel tears burning behind her eyes due to feeling that she had only made matters worse. But regardless, she had meant what she said, and she could not escape her own feelings of hurt and anger that had overcome her due to Bane's rather terrible accusation. "I meant what I said," she quickly spoke up just as Bane had approached his door and placed his hand on it. "Hurting Isaac because of this would really be–"

_BAM!_

Bane's door ceased its movement just inches before her face when it finally closed, and in a fit of frustration, hurt and despair, Jenna could not stop herself from lifting her shaking leg to leave a heavy kick against his door. As the sound echoed throughout the basement, she immediately retreated away from the door and headed into her own room, where she closed her door behind her before immediately picking up her pack of cigarettes and the lighter from within her coat on the floor. With trembling fingers, she plucked out a cigarette from the box before she immediately lifted up the lighter to the light it, and as she inhaled deeply, she decided she didn't care at the moment whether she was really allowed to smoke inside the building or not.

Exhaling noisily, she plopped down on her cot with a flinch as her right, broken arm bounced painfully, and she was completely unsure on how to predict Bane's next course of action. She had wanted to simply state her case, and pray that Bane would accept her words and leave Isaac alone. But now, after what she had said, after she had interrupted and yelled at him, she had a feeling that she had only made matters much worse, when all she had been trying to do was make them better. _It's not __fucking fair_, she thought, hating herself even more when a single tear fell down her cheek. With a roll of her eyes she immediately wiped it away before taking another long drag from her cigarette, and she closed her eyes, knowing now that all she could do was sit back and wait to see how things would play out...

–

As soon as Jenna had kicked his door after he slammed it shut, Bane closed his eyes tightly with a growl as he focused on holding himself back and standing still where he stood in the middle of his room. His fists had clenched again at his sides, and he felt his body trembling, still, due their argument. Forced with much to think over now, all Bane wanted to do was find a way to avoid everything and everyone. Jenna's sudden bravery to come out and put all of the blame on herself was shocking, to say the least, but all that she had to say about it was nothing but infuriating to Bane; it didn't make much sense to him. As the seconds passed by, he had come to hate how desperate she was for wanting to keep Bane from hurting Barsad, and he hated how Jenna just _knew _it was something he was contemplating on doing. _It's too late now_, that voice spoke up. _If it was something you _truly _wanted to do, you would have done it already. Do not embarrass yourself due to a sudden rampage of anger. You're better than that... stronger than that. _

_ Something _needs _to be done, _he argued with himself.

_There is nothing else to do. Accept what is, and move on. _

Once again, Bane was torn between his thoughts, and completely unsure of what to do. The half of him that wanted to put the blame solely on them craved physical punishment; he'd love to see Jenna locked away in her room again and undergo that torture, and his hands were still struggling to keep from hurting Barsad. Though at the same time, he realized how irrational this was. The other half of him, which was starting to accept this _was_ all his fault, desired nothing more than to find a way to be past all this, but not without something being done. The entirety of him wanted to see something done to the both of them to ensure they learned why this whole situation was unacceptable.

_Is it really unacceptable, though? _Came the voice again. _You decided to temporarily rid yourself of the girl, and did not care what kind of toll that took on her. You went back on your decision, _freed _her, and _told _Barsad to help her, because you didn't _like _how empty she had become. _Admit_ the truth, man! The _only _reason you are upset about this is because you _care_ about her. _

The words in his head were causing that boiling anger to return again, and he could feel his body heating as he placed his hands on top of his head while he spun around, desperate for an answer. He didn't _want _to like Jenna, even though he could not deny that he had _started _to in the beginning. But the childishness, the temper, the lying... it pushed him to the point of finally forcing her away from himself, and finally making her out to be what he had intended: a hostage. But what had that punishment been intended to do, really? _Correct her._ Correct her errors and flaws and keep her from doing them again. And for what? So she would become more bearable to Bane, and something of more interest. Bane already held that interest, and without realizing it, he had been desperate to deepen it by forcing Jenna to change her ways and turn her into somebody that Bane could like, without a doubt. Killing her would have solved all of his problems, but it was something he had, and still, refused to do.

_This is why you're upset. You feel betrayed because of your _feelings _for this girl. You want to __hurt Barsad for seemingly _taking _her from you, and you want to hurt Jenna for choosing somebody else __over you. Accept the truth, and _move on.

But he just _couldn't_. There was still a part of him that had to do something. But how could he kill, or even hurt Barsad, especially now, after all the use he was to him? He was his _second in command_, his right hand man, a title he had held onto with pride for years, and Bane _knew _there was no other man that he would ever trust enough to hold the same title and responsibilities. Barsad had come a long way since his beginning with Bane's operations, and he had done nothing but prove himself since. Killing him would ultimately hurt Bane more than anybody else. He _needed _him on his team, regardless of what he had done. Bane saw Barsad's actions with Jenna as a form of betrayal, but was it really a strong enough betrayal to die over?

That left Jenna, a more rational choice. Being permanently rid of Jenna wouldn't change much around the warehouse. She was nothing but _space, _taking residence in a room Bane sooner than later may need, eating portions of the food that his men needed more than her, and ultimately standing in everybody's way. She skewed the concentration from Bane and Barsad, and only angered and upset the rest of his team by simply existing. What purpose did she hold?

_She helped you in ways that you would have never imagined. _Bane growled when the voice came back, and as he let his arms fall to his side, he sat down on the edge of his bed before he leaned over to place his head in his hands. _She relieved your body in ways you never thought imaginable. She discovered flaws in Karly, flaws that you more than likely wouldn't have picked up on until she acted out on her plans. Perhaps she can't fire a weapon or will never have the authority to give commands, but she can follow directions, and she can sense and pick up on things you cannot. You knew very well she was starting to become an asset, another reason why you chose to lock her away and correct her, rather than kill her. Had she never slept with Barsad, she'd more than likely be sitting right next to-_

With another, louder growl, Bane stood up suddenly, desperate to believe he didn't want Jenna next to him. He wanted to believe she was one-hundred percent unhelpful, regardless of the ways she already had been. Instead of believing she had an opportunity now to be even more helpful, Bane wanted to feel confident in the fact that she would regress on her progress.

But despite all the thoughts in his head, he still did not know what to do with her, and he knew the longer he was forced to face these thoughts, the more he was missing his window of opportunity to actually act out on his defensive desires...

–

The built up frustration, anxiety, and sorrow had left Jenna feeling drained the longer she sat in her room, and when she was nearly half way through her cigarette, she had leaned back on her cot and closed her eyes, wanting to just take a moment to relax and try to clear her mind. But her moment of relaxation had turned into a small nap, and by the time she woke up with an aching neck and back, her legs and left arm dangling from the edges of the cot, she had no idea how long she had been sleeping or what time it was. Yawning, she forced herself to sit up, keeping her eyes closed, and as soon as her yawn was over, her eyes snapped open in fear when she remembered she had been smoking a cigarette. Moving onto her feet, she quickly turned around, searching the area around her bed for the cigarette. But as soon as she began to realize this worry was pointless, for if anything would have happened it would have woken her up, she found the cigarette, burnt out, on the floor next to the cot. Sighing in relief, she pushed her hair out of her face with her left hand before she turned to step up to her door to venture to the bathroom.

The basement was dark, cold, and appeared empty, and when she glanced over to Bane's door, she noticed a dim, orange light shining from underneath it. A small shock of worry sprang throughout her –just because his lights were on didn't mean he was inside his room– but she struggled to convince herself that he was in his room after all as she began up the stairs.

After she had gone, washed her hands, and frowned at herself in the mirror while deciding she really wanted a shower, Jenna opened the door, turned off the light, and quietly began downstairs. Her eyes had just readjusted to the dark by the time she was halfway to her room, but when she heard a series of low, sleepy sounding humming noises next to her, she couldn't help but to jump with a gasp.

The hums stopped as soon as she had gasped, and as Jenna turned her body to face the direction the noise had come from, she heard a series of shaky breaths before she heard the sound of chains clanking against the cold floor.

"W-who's there?" Mayor Anthony Garcia's voice broke the silence. Jenna's lips parted as her breath hitched in her throat, and as she felt her heart plummet to her stomach, she realized this was somebody she more than likely shouldn't be talking to...

"Hello?" the mayor asked again, the chains clinking as he moved his feet against the floor, stretching out his legs.

"What do you want?" Jenna finally asked, unable to help herself, her curiosity getting the best of her. The mayor sounded so tired and terrified, his tone of voice admittedly made Jenna feel sorry for him. The poor guy more than likely would not get to meet the more merciful side of Bane, like Jenna had.

The mayor was struggling to see the girl before him in the dark, but his tired eyes were unable to open all of the way, and he knew the girl was standing directly in the dark, a few feet away from where the light from upstairs stopped on the floor. He licked his dry lips and took in another breath as his heart pounded against chest in pure fear.

When Jenna heard the bathroom door upstairs close suddenly, she felt a shock run up her spine, a sign reminding her that she shouldn't be conversing with Bane's captive. "Look, I shouldn't be talking to–"

"Please, I have a question," the mayor interrupted immediately, causing Jenna's eyebrows to furrow with curiosity. He had heard this girl's voice around the basement since his time there, and he had only ever seen her small body, her black hair, and the profile of her face. As the days ticked on, he had developed a theory, due to having more than enough time to be alone with his thoughts. "Who– who are you?" He finally asked.

Jenna's heart skipped a beat as soon as the question left his mouth. "Jenna," she answered with her name before she could stop herself, and she closed her mouth tightly as soon as she had spoken. She couldn't help but to have the creeping feeling that if Bane were to catch her, or find out she had been talking to the mayor, it would cause him to become very upset, more so than he already was.

"_Silvera?_" the mayor asked quickly, and Jenna's eyes grew wide due to his louder and slightly higher tone. "Are you the Silvera's daughter? The one that was kidnapped?"

Jenna's jaw dropped as she struggled to find an answer, even though she knew she more than likely shouldn't provide him with one. She had heard how much his voice had lightened up once she confirmed his suspicions, and this only caused her to become more nervous about Bane.

"Y-yes," she replied, taking a step back, certain she was only digging herself a bigger hole.

"-my God," she heard the mayor mumble. "You're alive? After being... _here_? After all this time..."

Jenna swallowed the dry lump that had risen in her throat as she took another step back, her own heart starting to race. She didn't speak another word to the mayor, and instead she merely turned around to start over to her door. For some reason or another, the mayor's astonished tone of voice was shocking and even saddening to her, and she had to wonder what had come over him to so bravely call out to the person that had entered the basement. Once she closed her door, a chill ran throughout her, causing her body to jump and twitch slightly, and as she stepped further into her room, she decided she'd try to have another cigarette.

Bane had spent the rest of that day in his room, just sitting at his desk and contemplating the problems at hand. Still, he had not come to any strong, definite conclusions, but the longer he thought over everything, the more he desired to speak with Barsad, and hear his side of the story as it compared to Jenna's. Whether her punishment had taught her anything about lying or not, Bane would always take Barsad's word over anyone else's. Deciding this sounded like a good idea, he pushed himself and the chair away from the desk before he stood up to step over to his dresser, where he proceeded with putting on a long sleeved, dark gray shirt. Perhaps, once he listened to what Barsad had to say about the situation, a final decision could be made. Sitting alone in his room for so long had proved to calm him down severely, and left him with enough patience to think everything over a little bit more rationally. But even though he had become calmer and was feeling more rational, he could feel that anger inside him, ready to burst out at any moment.

After he stepped out of his room and glanced around the dark basement, he felt slightly ridiculous upon suddenly remembering the very important hostage that was sitting against the wall, less than thirty feet in front of him. He began to slowly step in the mayor's direction, welcoming the long-forgotten sensation of sick amusement once he decided he'd toy with the mayor a little, in efforts to start feeling like himself again. Once he had approached him, Bane reached over to snap on the light, and as soon as he did, he glanced at the mayor in just enough time to watch him flinch due to the sudden brightness.

"I must say, Mr. Garcia, you appear to look rather... depleted_. _Have you been acquiring your full eight hours?" Bane mused as he began to move around him, never taking his eyes off of him. But rather than Anthony nervously staring up at him and watching his every move, he merely turned his head away to glare down at the floor. His reaction caused Bane's eyebrows to furrow, and just as soon as that amused feeling came, it faded away. Bane stared at him for a moment before he turned to begin walking the other way in front of him, suddenly desiring to see the fear in his eyes again before he carried on to find Barsad.

"I'm sure you've been–"

"I saw her today," Anthony suddenly interrupted, his voice firmer than ever before, and he slowly turned his head to glance up at Bane. A pang of fear flowed throughout him, but seeing Jenna caused him to see his situation in a newer light. If Jenna Silvera, a pointless citizen, was still alive _months _after being taken, Anthony couldn't help but to feel as though his chances of survival were far greater. He had begun to figure Bane would simply use him for whatever he needed before reuniting him with his family. He _had _to, right? Why wouldn't he?

Bane was standing still and silent, waiting for him to go on, and once Anthony was reminded of this, he went on. "Jenna Silvera, the daughter you kidnapped? I saw her," he repeated.

Bane was still glaring at him directly, his curiosity and confusion having hit an all time high. "And... what did she say to you?" Bane asked.

When Anthony merely shrugged, Bane felt his hand clench into a fist at his side, but there was something about the mayor's new demeanor that was keeping Bane from acting out on his frustration.

"It doesn't matter what she said. She is _alive_, after being here," the mayor shook his head as he lowered it, and before his face was hidden from view, Bane could have sworn he saw a small grin spread over the mayor's lips.

As Bane continued to stare down at him, realization spread over him suddenly, and he loosened his fist. Mister Anthony Garcia had apparently been filled with an all new, burning _hope; _hope that his situation wouldn't be as bad as he was dreading, hope that he would be released, and hope that he would get to see his family again, all in comparison to realizing Jenna was still alive. The thought caused the room to start to spin, and Bane had move to stand with his feet shoulder width apart to balance himself. The thought caused a small grin to spread over Bane's lips, though at the same time, he could not believe that Jenna appeared to have unintentionally helped him in some way, again. _Unbelievable_, he wouldn't have done Bane any good to have told the mayor he would make it out of this alive with his family; he had seen how scared and angry the mayor had been, he more than likely would have always held doubt, and would have given up with his life entirely. But after seeing _pointless _and _useless _Jenna, he was more than likely assuming that he would be just fine. _How terribly incorrect_, Bane thought.

Bane decided to say nothing more to him, and figured it would be best to let him soak in his hopeful feelings. By the time it came to be rid of him, Bane knew it would be an even worse and painful task in the eyes of the mayor. _Hope_, Bane thought as he started up the stairs, leaving the light on. If there was any feeling he had learned to avoid, it was hope.

Once he reached the main level, he opened the door next to the stairs that led into the garage, and once he saw the lights were on, he knew he'd more than likely find Barsad inside. After he let the door close behind him, he began through the first row of metal shelving, keeping his eyes focused ahead of him as he let the amusement finally leave him completely.

Isaac, who had just finished changing the oil in his truck, paused the moment he heard those familiar, heavy footsteps heading toward him. He listened to them for a moment before he finally closed the hood of his truck with a loud slam, and as soon as he turned around, Bane had just stopped a good ten feet in front of him. Standing still, Isaac stared into Bane's eyes while Bane stared into his, and again that nervous feeling began to spread over him, causing a large frown to find his face. Isaac knew it was a matter of time until he had to face Bane again, and while he couldn't help the anxious feelings that had come over him, he was slightly relieved to be getting this over with sooner rather than later.

Tearing his eyes away from Barsad's, Bane glanced around the garage, and due to the Challenger's hood propped open and the various tools laying around, Bane figured Barsad had been keeping himself busy during the majority of the day. After Bane had glanced at Isaac once more, he glanced down slightly as he took a step forward.

"I won't prolong this more than necessary," he began. "I came out to speak to you about the current circumstances."

Isaac stayed quiet and still as he listened, respectfully waiting for Bane to go on.

"I want to know," Bane went on as he took another step closer, finally raising his head and eyes to look back into Isaac's, "what happened?"

Isaac nodded as he took a small step to the side to turn and lean against his truck. He craved a cigarette, but he knew Bane would not appreciate it if he were to prolong the moment. "We uh... returned from the diner," he began as he raised his hand slightly, his tired eyes focused on the front tire of the Challenger. "And she had been crying. We came outside for a cigarette, and all I had meant to do was comfort her, and make her stop crying."

Bane was looking at him as he listened intently, able to tell Barsad was already speaking the absolute truth. As he spoke, Bane spread his legs slightly as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"I... ended up kissing her, and it just escalated from there."

Bane nodded slightly. "Jenna told me _she _initiated it and is taking full responsibility for all of this," Bane commented. As soon as he said this, Isaac's head snapped over in his direction, his eyes wide, and it was evident to Bane that Barsad was just as shocked by this news as he had been. "Is any of this true?"

"She told me she simply wanted to go inside, and I just assumed what she meant," Isaac replied with a defeated shrug as he glanced away again, unable to fathom what Bane had said about Jenna. "She was emotional, I was just..." he trailed off, entirely unsure of how to explain how he had been feeling. "I hadn't been with anyone in a while, and Jenna... she was just there, and wanting it as bad as I did," he finally said, not seeing the way Bane's eyes had widened slightly. "But for her to try and take all responsibility for this isn't fair. We _both _had just as much to do with it, even though I was technically the one who initiated everything."

As Isaac continued to stare down at the tire, Bane continued to stare at him with slightly widened eyes. Bane knew he was telling the truth, and his truth brought interesting things to light. Bane already knew Jenna was trying to keep Isaac safe, but now that Isaac had admitted to taking control, this only cleared Jenna's intentions. Whether she actually thought it was her fault or not, she didn't want to see the 'wrong' person get punished for this. _How incredibly... selfless_, Bane thought, astonished, to himself. But something that Isaac said had caught Bane's attention: "_I hadn't been with anyone in a while, and Jenna... she was just there..." _Without having to say it aloud, Isaac had put to rest an idea that had formed in his head; it wasn't that Jenna was choosing somebody else over him, she had merely been desperate, as well. But before Bane could fully accept these new ideas, he still needed to confirm a few things.

"So, this was all nothing more than desperate attempts to relieve what had been... building up?"

"Yes," Isaac replied firmly as he glanced over at his boss. "Like I said, I guess I was just desperate to do it, and Jenna was probably desperate to feel anything but pain and emptiness... by that point..." Isaac trailed off again, not wanting to suddenly put any blame, whatsoever, on Bane. He reached up to pat the pockets of his coat, searching for his cigarettes, but when he remembered he had given the rest of his pack to Jenna, he let his hand fall to his side with a sigh, shocked suddenly to realize he had gone that _entire _day without a smoke. He had been focusing all his attention on staying busy and keeping his mind focused on something else that the desire for one had never come about. But now that he realized it, a cigarette sounded absolutely delicious by this point...

So Jenna had been telling the entire truth, Bane realized. Even if she had tried to put all the blame on herself, more than likely actually thinking it _was _all her fault, she had not told Bane a single lie. These realizations caused Bane to become dizzy again, and he took a small step back before he reached out to place his hand on the shelf next to him to steady himself. Suddenly, all desires to harm anybody started to leave him, and he could feel the actual energy draining from his body like a weight lifting off from his shoulders as he stared at the ground. He realized now that he had been right, Barsad was to blame more than Jenna was, but still, Bane knew he, himself, had more to do with this than he wanted to admit. He had caused Jenna to become an empty shell, who was left feeling desperate to feel anything else by that point, and Bane had allowed Barsad to get so close to her. Again, Bane had commanded Barsad to help her. Perhaps, in a way, he had ended up doing just that...

Feeling pathetic going back on his thoughts as the truth came to light, the strong urge to gain the truth on one more thing would not leave him, and Bane knew it wouldn't leave him until he got his answer. It was an answer that would admittedly relieve or upset him even further, but regardless, Bane had to know. He understood that by asking his right hand this question, Barsad would ultimately understand how Bane truly felt about Jenna... _You want to hurt Barsad for seemingly _taking _her from you, and you want to hurt Jenna for choosing somebody else over you, _he had thought earlier. Now was the time to find out whether this was entirely true, or false.

"I need to ask you something, about Jenna. Man to man..." Bane started slowly as he finally glanced up to Isaac as he leaned away from the shelf. Isaac was still looking at him, and he nodded slightly as he turned away from the truck to stand straight on his own, anticipating the question. "... and brother, to brother."

Bane's words caused Isaac's eyes to widen slightly, and he now understood this was going to be an incredibly, personal inquiry. He gave Bane his full attention and was prepared to answer with the entire truth, though feelings of relief continued to swarm over him due to Bane's sudden patience. Bane had been so angry before, so desperate to keep himself away from Isaac, but now, after being called his brother, after all of this, Isaac figured the worst had already past...

"Do you possess any... _feelings_, at all, for her?"

Isaac had a feeling, deep down, that Bane would be asking a question like this, but he had never anticipated him actually asking it. He always assumed something existed between Bane and Jenna, but he had never allowed himself to muse over the subject or find out completely, let alone accept it. But now it was evident to him why Bane had become so upset over all of this. In the beginning Isaac would have hated to hear it, but now it was different. Bane _cared _about Jenna...

"I do not," Isaac answered honestly, managing to look and sound as sincere as he could. "I view her as nothing more than a... friend," he added, wondering if that word would upset Bane at all. It appeared as though it didn't, for Bane was staring into his eyes while Isaac easily held his eye contact. Bane could tell by the way Barsad was staring back at him that he completely understood how Bane felt about her, and why this situation had hurt him so badly, but now, after learning that Isaac had no feelings for her, that disgusting feeling of relief completely overtook him. That voice in the back of his mind had been right, this entire time...

Relieved or not, however, Bane was still forced with much to think about. He had obtained the answers he had desired in the form of pure truth, but now he had to still figure out what to do, not with Barsad anymore, but with himself, and Jenna. Finally, Bane nodded, and he straightened his posture.

"Thank you, Barsad," he said in a low voice. "That is all I needed to know." He turned around, but as soon as he began away, he paused when Barsad suddenly spoke up.

"Did Jenna really take responsibility for all of this?" Isaac asked, desperate for his own confirmation, and he watched Bane glance over at him from over his shoulder.

"She did," he replied, his voice suddenly lighter. "It seems you have your own protector," he added in that same, slightly amused tone, and finally, as Bane started away, Isaac couldn't help but to grin as he let entire relief overtake him completely.

The idea of facing these new thoughts seemed incredibly undesirable, and if anything else, it would prove to be a harder task than before. Now, it wasn't a matter of who to hurt or who to blame, but rather he was now forced to figure out what to do about Jenna _and_ himself. Bane let out a frustrated sigh as he approached the bottom of the stairs, wondering if doing nothing at all would prove to be the best course of action, and as soon as he had completely reached the basement, he glanced up just as soon as Jenna's door opened.

She paused with a cold shock the second her eyes found Bane's frame in the bright light, and Bane had paused as well, his eyes fixed on hers. Holding her breath, Jenna began to feel dizzy as she wondered desperately if Bane had gone to find Isaac. Her room had filled entirely with cigarette smoke, and she was honestly starting to get sick of breathing it in constantly. The idea had arose in her that she would venture outside for a cigarette, where she would then proceed to see if Isaac was at least okay, but now, after running into Bane, she began to wonder if she should just head up to the bathroom instead.

But the desire to know whether or not Isaac was alive and well or crippled and near death was burning her alive, and Jenna knew she wouldn't be able to hold herself back from finding out much longer. Chances were Bane didn't want them to see each other again, and while this thought was typically saddening, Jenna felt as though this new command would be fine, so long as Isaac was okay. Jenna was entirely unable to tell what kind of mood Bane was in currently, but regardless, she bravely stepped out of her room, and she held eye contact with Bane as she slowly and quietly closed her door behind her.

"Did... did you see Isaac?" She asked in a small, fearful voice, shocks running up and down her spine as her throat swelled. Bane continued to look at her for another moment before he blinked, and he turned his head away from her for a moment before he glanced over at her again.

"Yes," he replied. "And to answer your next question, no, I did not hurt him."

Bane spoke in a lower tone than he normally did, causing his words to sound more muffled coming through his mask, but Jenna had understood him, and she struggled to keep the relief that swarmed over her body from showing. Her lips parted and her eyes widened, regardless of her efforts, and after she swallowed to sooth her nervously dry throat, she spoke again.

"Can I go up there to smoke?"

Bane knew it would be useless to inflict any sort of punishment on her, and now, as he spoke with her, the idea of ever doing so went away completely. What else was there that he could do besides welcome the rather relieving truth, and get over it? They both had been desperate, and they had both been there. Chances were, if it were any other man or woman, they both would have gone for it, just simply for the relief, and not due to anything else. Already, Jenna was starting to come out of her room more, bravely approach Bane, and above all, speak the truth and take responsibility for her actions. It appeared as though Barsad had helped Jenna after all, even if the help came in a form that Bane wasn't particularly fond of.

Still looking at her, Bane merely nodded his head toward the stairs as silent approval before he began toward his room, and finally, when his back was to her, Jenna let her jaw drop slightly further as she sucked in a sharp breath. Completely bewildered by Bane's calm demeanor, she was even more shocked to learn that Bane wasn't going to keep her from seeing Isaac again. Her heart racing in anticipation, Jenna immediately began toward the stairs, excited to confirm with her own eyes that Isaac was okay, but also terribly nervous due to having to face him after all that had happened that day...

**So excited to have finally finished this chapter! I apologize for the terribly long wait guys, I had so much to do during my final weeks of college, but the good news is I GRADUATED, and will be able to solely focus on this story for a while now! Please leave me your love (or hate)! I'm DESPERATE for some reviews and feedback and reader interaction! Gah!**


	24. Awaken

Pausing the moment she reached the top of the basement stairs, Jenna turned to face the door to her right that led into the garage, and figuring nobody would have a problem with her using that door, she turned to pull it open with her left hand before immediately stepping through it. As she made her way down the first row of shelving, toward the more open part of the garage, she knew she had made the right decision with using the door, for once she glanced outside of the opened garage door that was nearing in the distance, she watched the snow fall from the sun-setting, orange-hued, cloudy sky for a moment before shuddering due to the cold temperature that was more apparent in the main area.

Isaac was standing by his truck near the open door. The passenger side door was open, and Jenna watched him for a moment as he leaned over the seat, searching for something in the glove box. Her breath hitched in her throat as she took a moment to appreciate just the sight of him, well and unharmed, and now, hopefully, free of any trouble. Although Bane had claimed he hadn't done anything to Isaac, seeing that confirmed for herself was nothing short of relieving, and as Jenna opened her box of cigarettes, she began to feel as though this whole troublesome incident would finally get to be pushed behind her. However, she could already feel that awkward tension beginning to fill the chilled air, and as she plucked a cigarette out from the box, she braced herself, preparing herself for an even more awkward conversation.

Unable to find the sudden missing box of shotgun shells from his truck, with a sigh Isaac closed the glove box, and when he heard the sound of a lighter ignite, he leaned up and glanced out of the truck's closed window. A small shock ran throughout him upon seeing Jenna, standing and shivering in the middle of the garage while she lit up a cigarette, and while that same craving for a cigarette took over Isaac, those same, awkward feelings did as well. Regardless, he leaned out of the truck and closed the door, and as soon as he did, Jenna glanced up.

"I didn't even hear you come in," Isaac said as he took a step closer to her, struggling to ignore the images of Jenna, laying beneath him the night before, and how angry Bane had been just hours prior. "Can I get a cigarette?"

"Yeah, of course," Jenna replied with her cigarette dangling from in between her lips, and she handed Isaac the pack and the lighter. His fingers accidentally brushing against hers as he accepted them, Jenna jumped slightly before moving her left hand to her side, and she kept it there as she absentmindedly took a small back, hating how just a simple mistake that happened more often than not to everybody was making her feel more awkward and anxious than it should. She realized Isaac either ignored her reaction or hadn't noticed, and she watched him light his cigarette before she glanced away to stare down at the dirty floor, wondering now if coming out to the garage had been a good idea after all.

As he exhaled, Isaac moved to place the cigarettes into his coat pocket, but when he suddenly remembered that he had given Jenna the pack earlier that morning, he reached out to hand it and the lighter back to her. She was still staring at the floor, and when she didn't notice he had even moved at all, he cleared his throat gently, causing her to glance up at him.

"Sorry," she mumbled, feeling dizzy with the terrible energy, and she quickly reached over to take what Isaac was handing her, nearly dropping both of the objects before she tightened her grip around them, using more pressure than necessary as the box began to cave in from underneath her fingers. Isaac had seen this, and he merely nodded before he took a small step back, finding it bewildering that Bane was still allowing the two of them to converse, let alone be in the same room together after all that had happened and been said. Unless, Bane didn't know Jenna was out here...

"Does Bane... does he know that you're...?"

"Yeah," Jenna answered, knowing very well what Isaac was trying to ask, for she was just as surprised as he was. Isaac nodded as he glanced away. He hadn't wanted to ask, or mention Bane at all, but after just barely making it out of this situation, alive and unharmed, he wasn't ready to chance anything else. Had Jenna said Bane wasn't aware she was outside, Isaac would have been forced to abandon his cigarette and return inside. But Bane allowing the two to still see each other only confirmed what Bane had told Isaac earlier. He wondered if Jenna knew anything about that at all...

The two smoked in silence for a few moments as the snow began to pick up in front of the setting sun, and when a gust of wind blew in through the door and the chilled temperatures remained in the warehouse, Isaac watched Jenna shudder for a moment before he glanced down again, taking another hit from his cigarette. Shivering, Jenna reached up to do the same, wishing all the while that this uneasy energy didn't exist. There was much she'd like to say to Isaac, but she didn't know how to go about initiating the topic, especially when it was already so awkward to begin with. Still shaking as goosebumps began to cover her bare arms, she glanced up at Isaac, but she immediately dropped her gaze to the floor when she accidentally met his eyes.

"Where's your coat?" Isaac asked her finally after he watched her shiver for another short moment. Jenna merely shrugged.

"I left it inside."

"Do you want mine?"

Jenna lifted her eyes to glance into his, and although her body was desperate for warmth, she shook her head.

Isaac knew this was a lie, though at the same time he understood Jenna's answer. He was just surprised he had even offered in the first place. _Why wouldn't you offer? _He wondered to himself. _She's still Jenna, she's still your friend. She's still the same girl as before. Do something to clear the air. If you don't, this tension will last forever. _

Isaac knew he should, but where did he even begin? What did he even say? What was he _supposed_ to say? 'Sorry, it can't happen again?' 'Sorry, it _definitely_ will _never _happen again?' Was he even sorry? He was sorry for betraying Bane, but was he truly sorry for what he and Jenna had done? It was relieving for the both of them, and it appeared as though it was something Jenna needed to get out of her empty shell. Now, she appeared to be more life-like than ever, and because of the act, it had pushed her to speak with Bane, and do something she had never done before. She had taken the blame, taken complete responsibility even when it wasn't entirely her fault, all in the efforts to protect him. _Maybe you should start with saying thank you... _

Jenna kept her eyes focused on the floor still, and she struggled to keep her shivering under control, for she knew that if it continued, Isaac would take his coat off and give it to her without a second thought. Jenna didn't want to wear his coat. Accidentally touching his hand was more than she could stand at the moment. As the minutes passed by, she wished she knew what to say, and she wished she knew what Isaac was thinking, or what he was planning on saying. _He's not_, she thought. _He's not __gonna say anything. It's Isaac. If he had something to say he would have said it already... Unless he's __feeling as nervous as you are... _Unsure of what to believe at the moment, Jenna wondered what he and Bane had talked about when he came out here. She wanted to know what words were exchanged, and what was said for the two of them to avoid any serious confrontation, or harm. Had Bane merely talked to Isaac because of what Jenna said, or was it for another reason? Did Isaac know why? Jenna closed her eyes and took in a silent, deep breath through her nose, wishing she could obtain these answers without ever having to open her mouth.

She wanted to say something, anything about what she and Isaac had done. But she had no idea of what to even say at all. Chances were, Isaac didn't even want to hear anything about it. He had escaped pain, he had escaped death. More than likely, he was just as ready, if not _more _ready, to just forget about this whole situation and move on. Perhaps that was why he wasn't saying anything about it.

But as the tension built, the stronger the urge to say _something _about the situation arose in the both of them. Glancing up at her, Isaac watched Jenna continue to shiver as she took another drag, and he blinked a few times before he glanced away toward the closed garage door on the adjacent wall. The tension was making him feel dizzy, and he knew the importance of saying something was growing. He licked his lips before he forced himself to glance at her again, preparing himself to speak, but the words never came. He swallowed, watching her still, taking a moment to prepare before saying anything about the situation at hand, but when Jenna glanced up and met his eyes, he opened his mouth and allowed what ever words to flow through it.

"How's your arm doing?" He closed his mouth as he let out a small sigh, barely able to believe all that he was feeling now. He knew it was clear to Jenna that this was not what he had meant to say to her, and while it was a legitimate question, he knew Jenna was well aware that it was also a question meant to simply keep the two from talking about what was truly important.

"Umm, it's alright," she answered quietly as she glanced down to her cast before slowly glancing back up at him. "It's the same as... usual."

Isaac nodded, finally noticing she wasn't wearing the sling. The medical expert side of him wanted to reach out and feel for himself how her arm was doing, but he easily held himself back from doing so.

"It's been a while since you've been in that cast. I'm wondering if it's time we put you in an air cast."

"An air cast?" Jenna wondered, her eyes widening slightly, her tone unmistakeably filled with hopeful curiosity.

Isaac nodded. "Depends though." He lifted his cigarette to his mouth to take another hit while his sleepy eyes glanced away from hers for a moment.

"On what?" Jenna asked, her eyes still fixed on his. Granted this wasn't the conversation they _should _be having, if it was a a conversation about finally getting to use her right arm and hand again, Jenna was all ears by this point.

"If you're a fast healer," Isaac replied as he glanced over at her again.

"Oh," Jenna replied with a small nod as she glanced down, and noticing her cigarette was nearly burnt to the filter, she let it fall to the ground. Isaac followed her movement, and after watching the cigarette land, his eyes focused on her bare feet for a moment before a small grin stretched over his face.

"No shoes?" He wondered, glancing up at her again as he reached his leg out to properly extinguish the cigarette with his boot. A small grin spread over Jenna's lips as she shook her head.

"I didn't think it'd be this cold."

"During the end of December?" Isaac asked, cocking an eyebrow when Jenna shrugged.

"I wasn't thinking."

"That's not new for you," Isaac returned quickly as he dropped his gaze and cigarette to the ground as well, but as he moved his boot over it, he paused before slowly glancing up at Jenna. But she was still grinning, and she merely rolled her eyes, aware they were still avoiding what needed to be discussed, but also welcoming toward the lighter energy and topic.

"Yeah, well. I'm working on it," she said, and she watched Isaac grin as well, relieved that his comment hadn't turned out to be a rather rude way to enter the dire topics at hand.

"Well, I think I'm gonna go inside," Jenna said now. "It's... cold, and..." she trailed off, realizing not only did she_ not _want to go back downstairs, but that suddenly she was desperate to avoid the conversation all together. They had spent too long avoiding it. Bringing it up now would only be more awkward.

"Yeah, I gotta go get more cigarettes," Isaac replied. "I'll, uh... talk to you later?"

"Sounds good," Jenna replied in more of a mumble, and without another word, she immediately turned to head back into the warehouse, using the way she had come from.

The lights in the basement were still on, and the first thing she noticed upon starting down the stairs was Bane standing in the middle of the basement, his body turned to face where the mayor _had _been sitting. His arms were crossed over his chest, and the flexed muscles were unmissable from beneath his gray and tight long sleeved shirt. Swallowing, Jenna glanced away from him, but once she reached the basement, she couldn't help but to glance over to the empty chains attached the wall. Slight curiosity heightened in her as she slowed her pace to her room, but judging by the way Bane was standing in front of them, seemingly waiting, Jenna figured he had everything under control. She began to turn her head to face forward, but once her eyes met Bane's, who had turned his head to glance down at her, her breath hitched in her throat in surprise, and she came to a sudden halt next to him slightly. Feeling dizzy with that tense and undesirable energy again, Jenna realized she had just set herself up to speak to him, for he was now staring at her with furrowed eyebrows and expectant eyes.

"Where's the mayor at?" She finally forced herself to ask as she reached up to push her hair awkwardly out of her face. At the moment, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Bane. Fear? Nervousness? Gratitude? Whether it was the absence of all these feelings, or a sick mix of all three, the feelings left Jenna feeling confused and exhausted.

"Bathroom," Bane replied as he turned his head to glance up the stairs. Following his movement, Jenna turned and leaned over slightly to glance up the stairs as well, where she found one of Bane's armedhenchmen standing just outside of the closed bathroom door. Growing uninterested, Jenna was about to glance away, but she jumped a second later when the henchmen slammed the end of his gun against the bathroom door, using more force than necessary.

_"Times up!" _He scolded in a heartless, gruff voice. Her eyes widening slightly, Jenna finally turned away, but when she glanced at Bane again, unable to help it, she saw that deep wrinkles had appeared on the sides of his eyes again, and he bowed his head slightly as the bathroom door slowly eased open upstairs a good minute later. Why was he smiling?

_"Move." _The henchman spoke roughly again from upstairs, hitting the mayor's back with his gun, no doubt. A feeling of dread began to overcome Jenna, and she blinked her eyes finally as she glanced away from Bane. She finally lifted her foot to begin over to her door, but she jumped when Bane reached out to take a tight hold of her left wrist.

"Wait," he said, glancing down at her from over his shoulder. Her heart racing, Jenna glanced up to him with wide, nervous eyes. "Don't you want to see what a _real _hostage is treated like?"

Her eyes widening more due to his words, she swallowed as he turned away, finally letting go of her wrist, and she felt ice cover her body as she took a small step back in defense. Bane's action of keeping her around suddenly was nothing short of confusing, but his words filled her with a new sense of even stronger dread. It appeared as though Bane wasn't going to force her to stay around, for as soon as the mayor began to limp down the stairs, Bane took a few, large steps toward them. Swallowing again, Jenna backed up toward her door, and once she reached it, she pushed the door open more to start to ease herself inside, but regardless of that dread, her eyes would not look away from Bane and the mayor.

Once Anthony was just four stairs away from reaching the basement, Bane suddenly reached out to grab him by the shirt collar, and he pulled the mayor with him as he took a step back, Anthony flinching as his feet smacked painfully against the stairs. Frowning, Jenna reached up to clutch the frame of the door as she moved inside her room more, but still, her eyes followed Bane as he led Anthony back to the wall.

"A two minute break is a generous gift of precious time, Anthony, considering your current predicament," Bane was saying once they reached the wall, and Jenna couldn't help but to flinch when Bane slammed him against it. Holding him in place with his hand spread flat over Anthony's chest, he kept his eyes focused on the mayor while he waited for him to open his own eyes. "But you don't appear to be all that grateful," Bane growled, his mask only causing his voice to sound more terrifying.

"I... I..."

"Perhaps, if you'd like to see your family again, _or... _keep them safe from harm, you will follow my rules, Mister Garcia, to an outstanding extent. If you do not, it could prove to be your _ultimate downfall._"

Jenna felt her heart plummet to her stomach due to Bane's chilling words, and when he suddenly let the mayor fall to the ground, Jenna jumped as the mayor flinched, letting out a moan of pain. The same armed thug from upstairs was standing at the bottom of the stairs, and with a simple nod toward the mayor from Bane, the thug immediately went over to Anthony to begin fastening his chains again. As Bane headed away from him, he glanced over at Jenna, finding himself rather pleased that she had watched the entirety of what had just happened. He wasn't entirely sure of what had over come him. After excusing Isaac from any punishment, those leftover feelings of rage made Bane decide to give the mayor his break, all while knowing the mayor would take a longer time in the bathroom than was allowed. Due to this, it would give Bane a reason to drain some of that leftover rage from his body.

But rather unfortunately, seeing the mayor downstairs after Jenna had headed outside only reminded Bane of something, and got him to thinking. Mayor Anthony Garcia was his _real _hostage. He was threatened, beaten, left to suffer _everyday, _motionless against the cold wall, and was allowed _two minute _breaks once, very rarely twice a day, only in the efforts to keep him alive. Much like Jenna, the mayor had the choice of how to spend them: obtaining a small portion of food or a bathroom break, but very unlike Jenna, his time was short, and his breaks should be considered as something of more appreciation.

Jenna was allowed five minute breaks up to six times a day sometimes. She was left enough time to eat _and _use the restroom. If Jenna went over her five minute limit, she received a _warning_, and upon returning downstairs from her breaks, she didn't have to fear threats or physical pain. She would merely return downstairs to _safely_ sit in her room. Due to the perspective, Bane realized, Jenna's punishment was nothing short of a kindergarten time-out as compared to the mayor's terrible situation, but he knew there were underlying reasons as to why this was. The mayor was scum to him, a pointless man who _deserved _to be treated this way, especially after thinking all this time that he had avoided Bane the first time he had rampaged Gotham. Jenna was... different. Had she undergone a punishment as severe as Antony's, it would have killed her fragile frame. Though, Bane realized, not only did he _want _to put Jenna through that, her kindergarten punishment appeared to have done the trick.

When Bane allowed the mayor to venture to the bathroom this time, he decided that at some point it would be important for Jenna to see how the mayor was really treated in hopes that she would make a direct comparison to herself and her own situation. Despite what Bane had practically confessed to Isaac, he wasn't entirely sure why he suddenly felt this way, but now, judging by the look on her face, he knew his idea had worked.

Jenna was still staring at him with that racing heart, and she swallowed when Bane slowed his pace, more than likely preparing to speak to her. Jenna figured her safest bet was to stay silent and not think much of Bane's actions, but suddenly, how could she not? Why had Bane wanted her to see that? To frighten her? To warn her? To make her think back to her punishment? But why? _"Don't you want to see what a _real_ hostage is treated like?" _He had asked her. Her eyebrows furrowing, a short second later Jenna finally realized what his goal had been, and suddenly she could not hold herself back from speaking.

"Should I be saying thank you?" She asked, her tone a little more sassy than she had meant. But Bane picked up on this, and he stopped in his tracks suddenly to turn his body to face her. Jenna could instantly feel her body cowering back, but when she saw Bane to be grinning again, she swallowed, feeling dizzy with confusion and wonder.

"Only if you feel it's necessary," Bane returned. "Perhaps now you'll begin to understand your situation isn't nearly as bad as you think it is. Although, I believe it is you who should be receiving praise."

Jenna followed Bane's motion of glancing over at the mayor, and she felt her heart sink into her stomach again, not only due to the mayor's sudden, unconscious state, but also due to what Bane had said. Jenna decided Bane currently couldn't be acting weirder, even if he wanted to.

"F-for what?" She finally asked once she and Bane glanced at each other again. When Bane took a step toward her, she instinctively took a step back, suddenly wondering if she should be expecting Bane to lash out at her.

"You instilled the mayor with a new sense of hope, and in doing so, you've caused him to comply to my demands so far. So really, thank _you, _Jenna."

"How...?" She wondered, her eyebrows furrowing as she glanced down. So Bane had learned she had been speaking to the mayor, but why wasn't this upsetting him? How had Jenna made the mayor out to be suddenly hopeful? The last thing she wanted to do by this point was help Bane...

"All he had to see was you, and all you had to do was confirm who you were." Bane watched Jenna slowly lift her head up to him, and when he saw the confusion had deepened in her expression, he explained further, still unsure as to why he was so willing, so suddenly, to be speaking to her. Not even an hour ago, he had just barely came up with a decision on how to handle Jenna and Isaac's situation at hand. He had settled it with Isaac, but he still wasn't entirely sure if sparing Jenna from anything was the right move...

"You have been declared deceased by the media for quite some time, a story that had, no doubt, reached the mayor's ears. But seeing you _here_, alive... it has caused him to believe that he, too, will pull through this."

A new, heavy weight lowered down onto Jenna's shoulders as various thoughts and confusions buzzed around in her mind, and she licked her lips as she glanced away from him, barely able to keep her eyes focused on his.

"Will he?" She wondered. When Bane didn't answer, she glanced up at him, and she stared into his eyes for another moment before he merely took a step back from her.

"What do _you _think?" He answered, and when Jenna's frown deepened, he turned to head over to his own room, deciding their conversation was now over. That sickening feeling of dread and anxiety weighing her down again, Jenna finally took a step back to close her door, and she sighed as she closed her eyes, feeling even more exhausted suddenly.

Bane's behavior made absolutely no sense to her. Just hours prior, he was ready to kill both her and Isaac. What had changed that? Why had it changed? What had Bane and Isaac talked about, and why was Bane suddenly so ready to start speaking to Jenna again, on a more patient and amused level? For a split second, the thought of asking Isaac seemed desirable, but even while Jenna did not feel like facing him again, she knew Isaac would not tell her.

What was more desirable than ever was to go back to the time of ignoring Bane while he ignored her in return. Jenna had continuously been filled with that nervous feeling, but at least she hadn't been as confused as she was now. While she wanted to know why Bane was speaking to her like this, she was definitely not prepared to ask._ Just ignore him yourself, _she figured. This seemed like an excellent idea. After her encounter with Isaac, then having to deal with Bane's sudden rationality toward her, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and avoid everybody.

–

Jenna had not been the only one to be confused as to why Bane was speaking with her. While he was prepared to prove to Jenna, once and for all, how rather good she had it around the warehouse, he wasn't prepared to speak to her for so long, and with so much interest and patience, as well. Upon returning to his room that night, Bane had paused the moment he closed his door, and he stared blankly at the still, camera images on his TV. It was almost as though confessing his secret to Isaac had awoken something in him, almost as if he wasn't truly aware of it himself. All his desires with Jenna, all his actions toward her all pointed to his secret. Practically saying it aloud for the first time seemed to only solidify it, and cause it become inescapable.

Taking a step forward, he grabbed his new TV remote from his desk –a spare remote he had kept around, just in case– and he pressed the rewind button, watching the image of the garage in the center of the screen. Once it picked up some activity, he waited until the beginning, when Jenna entered the warehouse, and after pressing play, he crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Jenna and Isaac intently, curious to see what had gone on.

It appeared as though they hadn't been talking much, and they maintained a pretty vast distance in between them. Jenna's mouth barely moved, and Isaac was primarily holding still, save for the instances he would bow his head or look away from Jenna. For the majority of the time they just stood there, smoking, and Bane could almost feel that awkward energy radiating from the TV, judging by their distance, the lack of conversation, and the way Jenna had jumped when it appeared Isaac's fingers brushed against her own. _Good_, he thought as his eyes went from Isaac to focusing on Jenna, and he kept his eyes focused on her and as he fixed his hold on the remote.

Jenna wasn't the first woman he cared about in some way, but the feelings were different than Talia's had been. Although, ultimately in the end, Bane had to wonder if he ever did truly care about Talia in the first place. He had saved her, obeyed her every command, given her the world... but what for? To ultimately be betrayed? To be left behind, after all he had done for her, so she could selfishly escape with her life? She hadn't cared about him, ever. When Bane finally realized he had been nothing more than a mere toy, whom she had used and thrown away so easily, he could not let this go unpunished. So he ended her, and once he had, his prior feelings died along with her, causing him to wonder if he had ever felt them in the first place.

But Jenna was different. Everything about her and how he felt was different, and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. While Talia had been smarter, tactical, more devoted and even warmer, Jenna was childish, a coward, immature, fearful and quick to act out on these undesirable traits. But on the other hand, Jenna was seductive, sensual, and ready to take and embrace anything that came along with these two traits. She brought about feelings and urges that Bane had never felt before, and never dreamed about feeling with Talia, not that he ever even wanted to in the first place. But unlike Talia, whether she knew it or was willing or not, Jenna was ready to learn, and correct. She had proven this to Bane just that day, and her example was stronger than he could have ever anticipated.

Talia was set in her ways. What one saw was what one got with her. Jenna was almost like an enigma. She was interesting. She was, dare Bane say, fun, in many ways, sometimes. She was fun to be around, fun to be _with_, and fun to toy with. But no matter how badly Jenna thought she was treated by Bane, he knew that she would never understand the _true _meaning of being toyed with, and used.

This had to be why Bane was so forgiving toward her. If Bane didn't care at all, Jenna would be dead, and he would have more than likely hurt Barsad. But not only did he need Barsad on his team, deep down, he realized, he knew hurting Isaac would, in turn, only hurt Jenna as well. He hated how this was happening, and he hated having to deal with it and sort everything out, but no matter how logical Bane, or anyone for that matter, was, feelings and emotion always had a way of taking one over, completely, and could not be defeated with thought and logic. Bane had many reasons to rid himself of Jenna permanently, but now, he was beyond wanting to do so.

So what did Bane want, right now, after all of this? Did he want to merely ignore Jenna and force himself to deal with his feelings privately, like he had been, or was he truly ready to forgive and forget, and interact with Jenna again? Regardless of what he wanted, he knew what Jenna wanted. She wanted to be away from him. She wanted avoid him. If Bane truly wanted to ignore her, this would work out to everyone's advantage, but when Bane realized he didn't want to avoid and ignore her...

He growled from where he stood in the middle of his room, and in a sudden fit of miniscule rage and annoyance, he turned off the TV, using more force on the remote's button than necessarily, and he struggled to keep himself from throwing the remote at the wall. So he cared about her. So he wanted her to be around him. Fine, right? Why couldn't it be? Bane was still human, after all, regardless of his impressive and destructive resume'. Just because he _cared _about Jenna didn't mean he was devoted to her in any way. He wasn't, and planned on never being that way. He simply cared enough about her to keep her out of true harms way. He cared enough to value her life, and correct her errors. He cared enough to keep her close to him, and protect her... unless, he didn't really care about her. Perhaps he was just possessive over of her. But even if he was possessive, where had that feeling stemmed from? _Caring._

Bane growled again as he tossed the remote onto his desk, and feeling hot suddenly, he reached down to peel off his shirt. Finding it slightly outstanding that he had been thinking about this all for so long, he also realized he was still entirely unsure of what to do. Even if he decided to get close to her again, how would Jenna react? More than likely, she would push him away, all while discovering Bane's true feelings toward her, and while he was beginning to accept them, or accept the better title for them, possessiveness, he wasn't ready for Jenna to understand the extent of them. But honestly, despite what Bane was feeling, was he really ready to be the _only _one feeling _anything _in yet another twisted type of relationship? He had already gone through those problems. He had been betrayed already by Talia, and even Jenna already, although Bane understood Jenna was not aware of how he felt... But Talia had been... Talia's betrayal had been worse. Bane did not want to be betrayed again.

He knew if he wanted to be around Jenna again, it meant making her want to be near him, or, at least it should. It all sounded so terribly foolish, but these feelings were inescapable. Realizing he should perhaps redeem himself in some way, to gain back some of her interest and her trust, he also knew he was not the only one who needed redemption. Granted, Jenna had given him a shining example of her newly corrected ways, Bane knew finally that Jenna would not be able to redeem herself if Bane did not start redeeming himself first. If, of course, Jenna even wanted to...

Sighing again, Bane sat down on his bed, desiring sleep, but he knew this would be a hard feat to overcome. His mind was racing, with no hope of dying down, and as he leaned back on his bed, his knees bent against the edge, his feet resting flat against the floor, he knew it would be a very sleepless night. His thoughts were leaving him exhausted, too tired to even prepare for bed. Though he had to wonder if a deep and long sleep was exactly what he needed to achieve the answers he was seeking...

Early the next day, he discovered rather quickly what he planned on doing, and before he could even stop himself, his mind had been made up, no matter how degrading it seemed or appeared to be.

He had stepped out of his room that morning, after obtaining nearly five hours of slumber, after falling asleep a little after three, just in enough time to watch Jenna step out of her room as well, carrying what appeared to be a toiletry bag in her left hand along with a towel draped over her arm, as well. He stayed near his door, watching her start toward the stairs, but once Jenna noticed him watching in the corner of her eye, she jumped slightly when she finally turned to glance at him.

She watched Bane's eyes drop down to the objects in her hand, and she swallowed when he raised his eyes back up to hers. "I was going to go shower," she felt obliged to explain, even though it was obvious what she was heading upstairs to do. However, there was a truth to this that she hadn't expressed, and as the seconds went on, she realized it was probably dire to tell Bane the entirety of her plan. "In... Isaac's room..." she added in a mumble as she bowed her head slightly.

Desperate to shower to the fullest extent, shave again, and find a way to sooth her aching back and neck due to a terrible night's sleep, Jenna saw no other way to achieve this other than (hopefully) using Isaac's shower. Granted she could just ask him to wrap her arm in a bag again –it would save her from asking a terribly awkward question, and save them from dealing with that tension again– but Jenna _knew _she would be interrupted if she were to use the bathroom on the main floor, and she would feel anxious the entire time.

Due to Bane's silence, she lifted her head slightly to glance up at him, wanting to know what his physical reaction would be. Her eyes traveling up his shirtless frame quickly before focusing on his eyes, she grew shocked to learn that he remained motionless, even after hearing what Jenna was going to do, if, of course, Isaac allowed it.

Regardless of how Bane felt about it, a short moment later, he merely nodded, blinking slowly as he did so, and when Jenna realized he wasn't going to say anything, she slowly turned to start back over to the stairs, feeling bewildered. Bane remained where he stood, watching her, knowing that while he wasn't exactly fond of Jenna using Isaac's shower, or being in his room again, no less, he wasn't prepared to do anything about it. What could he do? He understood why Jenna wouldn't want to use the bathroom on the main level, and he was past the point of forcing the two to remain apart again. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling out noisily, once Jenna disappeared up the stairs, he slowly wandered toward the middle of the basement, his eyes avoiding the slumbering mayor all the while. He stopped in the middle of the room, turned to glance over toward Jenna's open door, and once he peered inside of her room, all he saw was the mess of her filthy clothes strewn everywhere...

Anxiety took over Jenna more and more as she neared Isaac's ladder, and once she reached it, she draped her towel over her shoulder and placed the handles of her bag in between her teeth. After struggling to climb the ladder, once she reached the platform, a group of henchman chatting noisily in their hangout behind her, she took hold of her bag again before taking a deep breath. She raised her fist and forced herself to knock on Isaac's door, thinking about how desperate she was for a shower her only motivation to doing so, and as she waited, she hoped Isaac was inside.

A moment later, she heard his bathroom door open, and after listening to his feet shuffle against the floor and Isaac seemingly open his dresser drawer and close it a few seconds later, the door opened, reveling a usually tired-looking Isaac, clad in an army green t-shirt and tan cargo pants. Distracted by figuring Isaac had just put that shirt on seconds ago, and growing even more distracted when she realized she was rather thankful for this, she blinked finally before focusing her eyes onto Isaac's.

"Hi," she mumbled nervously, that energy already apparent, not even after ten seconds of being in his presence. "I, uh–"

"Need a shower?" Isaac finished, his eyes dropping to the items in Jenna's hand before he raised his eyes to look back into hers. Jenna forced a small grin to spread her lips.

"Yeah," she replied. "Is that okay?"

"Is it?" Isaac asked, his gaze suddenly sterner, and after a moment, Jenna understood what he meant.

"Yeah, it is," she replied quietly as she bowed her head slightly. "He knows."

Trusting her words, Isaac stepped aside to let her in. "You want another bag? For your arm?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied as she turned slightly, watching Isaac close the door before he headed over toward his dresser. Swallowing nervously once her eyes roamed over his unmade bed, she felt her heart drop to her stomach as she immediately started over to his bathroom, but she paused once she noticed his electric razor sitting on the sink and plugged into the wall, ready to go. The lack of hair in the sink, the same hair that was currently still covering his jaw and chin, made her realize she was interrupting him.

"If you were busy, I can wait, or just go downstairs–" she began once Isaac appeared in the bathroom doorway. He immediately shook his head as he held open the plastic bag to her, a hole cut on the side closest to Isaac, and Jenna dropped her things to the floor before she slowly extended her arm into and through the bag.

"You're fine," he replied. "I can finish up when you're done."

"You sure?" Jenna double-checked as Isaac began to tape the bag around her arm, Jenna struggling to hold out her arm as far as she could to keep her distance from him. Keeping his eyes focused on her arm and his work, he nodded absentmindedly before he took a hold of the middle of her cast. Pausing and holding as still as she could, Jenna watched him slowly start to extend her arm further, his eyes watching her elbow to see just how far he could manage to extend it while also gently lifting her arm upward. Humming to himself a few seconds later, he nodded before backing out of the bathroom.

"Take your time," he offered before closing the door. Still standing there awkwardly with her arm stretched in front of her, Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced down to it, and she slowly brought her arm back to herself before she slowly extended it again, surprised with how much movement she could suddenly do with it. Thoughts of that air cast began to swarm her mind again, and she wondered if she really was ready for it. Granted she wasn't sure what it was, exactly, it sounded much better than the bulky mound of plaster that currently covered the vast majority of her arm.

After starting the shower and getting out the necessary objects she needed from her bag, as soon as Jenna stepped under the hot water, she let out a loud sigh as she closed her eyes. She stood perfectly still under the water, letting it mat down her hair and run over her cold body, and after standing still for a long, couple of minutes, letting the water beat down on her sore neck, she finally remembered Isaac was waiting to get into his own bathroom, and she quickly moved to finish her routine.

By the time she was done, a little over half an hour later, she couldn't help but to start shivering as she reached out for her towel, and after squeezing out her hair the best she could for the moment, she wrapped herself up in her towel before stepped out onto the bathroom tile. Wiping away the thick fog that covered the mirror, she glanced at herself through the reflection, and used her finger to remove any left over traces of makeup before rotating her head around a little, hoping to make the pain in her neck go away. Granted she wasn't touching any parts of her body, she could feel how smooth and hairless she was, and the feeling was welcoming as she moved to place her foot up on the toilet to start drying her legs.

After another five minutes of trying to get as dry as she could, she wrapped herself in the large towel once more, but once she reached the door, she paused, ready to kick herself for not even thinking to get dressed. After all that had happened, how could she be so stupid enough to walk past Isaac, wearing nothing but a _towel_. She shut her eyes tightly as she let out a large sigh through her noise, annoyed and painfully nervous, but Isaac was waiting for her to leave, and she was just as ready to leave. She had no other choice but to simply open the door, and thank Isaac quickly while marching toward his door to leave as fast as as she could manage.

With a deep breath, she placed her hand on the handle, hesitating for a moment before she finally forced herself to open the door. Using more force then necessary, she stumbled back slightly when the door hit her knee, and she hissed to herself just before she noticed she had caught Isaac's attention on the bed. He had been leaning against his pillows, staring up at his TV, but now he was staring at Jenna with furrowed eyebrows and widened eyes. Swallowing, she flashed Isaac a quick grin before she tightened her hold on the towel and she immediately began to his door.

"Are you...?" Isaac began to ask, only to immediately be interrupted by Jenna as that awkward tension swarmed the room.

"Okay? Yeah," she replied, just a few feet from the door now. "Thank you," she added. Isaac watched her retreat from where he was laying on his bed, and with a frown he leaned up.

"Jenna... wait."

Jenna had just placed her hand on the handle of his door, and when she heard his tired and lower voice, she paused, swallowing as she listened to Isaac get off the bed. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, both unsure of what Isaac wanted, but also hoping he'd change his mind from talking to her. But when she heard his floor creak slightly from underneath his feet, she knew what was coming.

"We need to talk," he went on.

Frowning still, Jenna finally let go of the handle of the door, and once she turned to face him, clutching her towel tighter, she nodded. Isaac's eyes wandered down slightly, but once he reached the middle of her body, he closed his eyes before finally opening them and focusing them on her face. He realized now probably was not the best time to talk about what they had done, especially after Jenna just gotten out of the shower –his shower– and was wearing a towel in his room, but he was sick of the tension that was existing between them, and he knew to truly be past the whole event, he and Jenna had to be able to both get past it together and on the same terms.

Judging by the way Jenna was staring silently at the floor, Isaac knew she was waiting for him to speak first, and after clearing his throat, he did. "First, I guess I should say thank you," he began, his words catching Jenna's attention, and she lifted her head to stare up at him finally. "For defending me," he explained further. "You didn't have to do that. It wasn't all your fault."

"Bane told you that?" She asked, and she nodded to herself after Isaac replied with the same gesture.

"That was big of you Jenna, and something I wouldn't have ever expected you to do."

A small grin reached Jenna's lips as she bowed her head, but as soon as it had appeared, it went away. "Yeah, well. I felt like I had to."

Isaac grinned slightly. "The old Jenna would have hid in her room, and merely prayed that I'd be okay. If she even cared enough in the first place to do so."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as she glanced up at him again. "I've always liked you, Isaac. You've been the only one there for me, and the only one to help me, even when I've screwed up big time. I really appreciate your friendship, and I..." Jenna sighed as she glanced away for a short moment, wishing this awkward conversation would end, although she knew the importance of it continuing. "I don't want what happened the other night to ruin it. Unless, it has. Which I'd understand," she went on to mumble.

Isaac's grin expanded, and he surprised Jenna when he let out a small laugh. "It doesn't have to be if we don't let it. It was a... _helpful experience._ For the both of us." He nodded slowly as he glanced away as well, his grin fading away, just when Jenna had looked over to him, and she was able to tell the awkwardness had finally reached him to its full extent, as well. "But, I work for Bane. I'm his second in command, the rightful leader should anything happen to him or if appointed to be so. I betrayed him, again," he added with a simple shrug. "I've told you before Bane doesn't give out second chances, but for me to receive a _third? _I just want to make sure we're both on the same terms when I say nothing like that can never, _never _happen again." He glanced up at her finally, his tone having become firmer, his tired eyes sterner, but still, Jenna could see he was nervous that he may be hurting her in same way, as well.

But Jenna wasn't hurt, and if Isaac wasn't going to be the one to say that, Jenna definitely would have. It wasn't worth endangering Isaac and herself, and if she were being honest, she was beginning to think it had hurt Bane more than he had let on, despite how angry he had become.

"We are, I understand," Jenna replied. "It just... happened."

"_Exactly_," Isaac stressed, pleased to see that Jenna was on the same page with what he had told Bane the night before. "It could have happened with anyone."

"Well, I don't know about that," Jenna said, smirking again suddenly. "Most of the guys around here are scary... and gross."

Isaac's grin returned as well, and finally they could both feel that awkward energy draining from the room with each grin and smirk exchanged.

"Bane included? Me too?" He went on to joke. Jenna's smirk expanded into a grin.

"Bane's scary but I wouldn't really call him gross," Jenna replied honestly, surprised for a moment to hear how casually she had just spoken his name. "And you? You're more... friendly, and clean."

Finally, Isaac let out a small laugh as he bowed his head. "Clean and friendly," he confirmed once he glanced up at her, his grin causing his teeth to show and his eyes to squint. "Just what a mercenary wants to hear."

"Yeah well, it's this new thing I'm trying. It's called the truth. And sometimes it hurts," Jenna replied in a more stern voice as well, her grin expanding. They remained staring at each other for another moment before Isaac finally bowed his head, his eyes catching site of the bag that still covered Jenna's arm.

"You want that off?" He asked as he looked back up, and he took a step closer to her before Jenna nodded, realizing finally what he meant. She held out her arm, through not as far this time, and even with doing so, the awkwardness was kept at bay. Isaac began peeling off the tape, Jenna's eyes watching his hands the entire time, and as he worked, she began to wonder about her arm again.

"So that cast," she began once Isaac slid the wet bag off of her arm. "Do you think I'm ready for it?"

"Should be," Isaac replied as he turned to head over to the garbage that sat under the sink in the bathroom.

"When do you think we could see?" Jenna asked, hoping she wasn't jumping into reviving their friendship too soon for Isaac's tastes. She paused, biting her lip slightly when Isaac didn't reply from within the bathroom, but she relaxed once he appeared a few seconds later, holding her toiletry bag and her clothes, all rolled up in the shirt she had been wearing in efforts of not touching any article that was too personal.

"Not sure," he replied as he started over to her. "Got some runnin' around to do today."

Jenna nodded once he approached her, and she smiled slightly as she reached out to take her bag and clothes from him, being careful to keep her towel held up by the pressure of her upper arms against her sides.

"You uh, almost forgot this in your haste to run away."

Jenna let out a short, breathless laugh as she held onto her clothes and towel again with her left hand, the handles of her bag around her wrist now.

"Well, I didn't want it to be any more weirder than it had to be."

"Does it still feel weird?"

"Not really."

Isaac nodded with a smirk. "Guess were doing something right then."

Jenna's smile re-appeared on her face again. "Guess so. Thank you, for your shower."

"Any time," Isaac replied as he took a step forward just as Jenna opened his door to step onto the platform. He glanced across the platform to look at the various henchmen that were in their hangout, some of them staring at Jenna while others were too busy watching the TV, and after Jenna dropped her bag and clothes down onto the main floor below, he glanced back at her.

"I meant what I said though. You taking the responsibility like that. It's astonishing, to say the least. You deserve praise for that."

"Thank you," Jenna replied shyly as she re-adjusted her towel yet again, incredibly relieved she and Isaac had resolved their problems, but also terribly desperate to get dressed.

"Bane, even, was just as surprised. If not more," he added, unable to help but feel it was something he should say in Bane's behalf. A small, shocked look over came Jenna before it faded, and she nodded slightly as she pushed her dripping hair out of her face. Isaac grinned at her, his eyebrows bouncing up once, before he decided now was a good time to excuse himself. Without a word, and knowing Jenna understood, he took a step back before closing the door, and with a final nod to herself, Jenna turned to start down the ladder, hoping and praying that none of the thugs from upstairs would 'suddenly' decide to come down.

Fortunately, Jenna made it down the ladder just fine, and after picking up her bag and clothes, she immediately began down the hall and toward the stairs.

Most of the lights were off expect for one light above that cast a dim light down into the basement, but her eyes adjusted to it before she even reached the bottom. As she started to her closed door, she focused on keeping her eyes away from the mayor, wanting nothing to remind her of what she had done to aid Bane, and with a small sigh she placed her hand on the handle of her door. But once she opened her door and turned on her light, she paused, breathless, when she discovered absolutely _none _of her clothes were in her room. Her mouth hanging open in the near perfect shape of an 'O', she slowly took a step further into her room as she dropped the objects in her hand, her eyes darting all over the area in search for _any _of her clothes. Where had they all gone? Who took them and why?

Just when Jenna couldn't decide whether to be terrified or burning mad, as soon as she turned around, she gasped lightly upon seeing Bane standing in her door way, wearing a black t-shirt, dark gray cargo pants, and his usual, large combat boots the bottom of the pants tucked into. Composing herself and tightening her hold on her towel, she closed her mouth as she took a minuscule step back.

"Where... where are my clothes?" She asked, struggling to keep eye contact with him suddenly.

"I took the liberty of doing your laundry," he replied, his answer shocking, to say the least, and Jenna's eyes widened. Bane was doing her laundry? How could that be? Her mouth hung open again as she tried to fathom this while Bane had made himself busy with leaning through her doorway to glance around her room. "The absence of all your clothing makes this room look... larger. Wouldn't you agree?"

"You have a washing machine?"

"And a dryer," Bane replied as he leaned away from the door. He had anticipated for Jenna to be surprised, but never to this extent. It looked as though she was about to have a panic attack. Truth be told, Bane was near ready to have one himself. He had done her _laundry_. And so suddenly, too. It was a decision he hadn't even had time to make. As soon as he had seen her clothes all over the floor in her room, something came over him, and he could not stop himself from marching inside to collect her clothes in his large arms. Had he been bored? Tired? Had he suddenly decided the mass of dirty clothes in one place was rather disgusting? Or was he just ready to get on Jenna's good side...?

"W-where?" Jenna asked, her eyes narrowing as she glanced away.

"The garage," Bane replied. "In the furthest corner, by the garage door on the adjacent side of the building."

"I've never seen one."

"You've never ventured to that area before," Bane pointed out, causing Jenna to stop talking. _So Bane's done your laundry. Cool! You'll finally get clean clothes, _Jenna thought. But still, she found herself to desperately be wondering _why _he had even done it in the first place. First, he appeared near ready to kill her. Then he ignored her. Then he held a patient conversation with her, and now he was doing her laundry? _Bi-polar? _Jenna wondered freshly to herself.

"Thank you..." she finally mumbled, unsure completely of what else to say about this, until, of course, a rather terrifying thought entered her mind. "But, what am I supposed to wear until it's done?" She wondered aloud.

Bane watched her glance down to the clothes she had been wearing on the floor, and he watched a flash of disgust over come her face before he nodded in thought. Without a word, he turned away from her door, and catching Jenna's curiosity, she started out of her room and began to follow him to his own. She stopped just a few feet away from his door, the feeling of falling overcoming her when she listened to Bane open his dresser. He appeared outside of his door a short moment later, holding a single, folded, black t-shirt in his hand, and once he approached her, he handed it to her.

"You can wear this," he offered. "If you so choose."

_As opposed to what_? Jenna thought somewhat sourly as she took the shirt from him with an awkward raise of her eyebrows. _The dirty clothes I had been wearing? _It appeared as though she didn't have a choice. Her heart was racing and pounding away against her chest with such force, she was positive Bane was able to hear it as he stared down at her. Clutching her towel even tighter, Jenna forced herself to glance up at him.

She merely nodded with a look of defeat on her face, not entirely excited to be wearing one of _his _shirts. But he _had _done her laundry. Wearing one of his over-sized t-shirts for just a few hours was a small price to pay for weeks of fresh, clean clothing. Without another word, Jenna turned to start over to her door, his shirt in hand, and once she stepped into her room and closed the door, she let go of her towel, allowing it to fall to the floor, and she unfolded Bane's shirt before holding it in front of herself with her left hand. She gazed upon the black fabric, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that this shirt, that Bane had probably recently just worn, was about to rest against her body. She knew if this was happening mere months ago, she wouldn't have minded. She probably would have disgustedly embraced it. But now, after all that he had put her through?

_It's a fucking shirt. Put it on and get over it. For once he's done something kind for you. Weird, but, kinda needed. _Jenna was frowning, but she knew her thoughts were right. She turned the shirt over with her left hand before moving it over her head, searching for the collar to put her head through and flinching when pain stemmed from her neck, but she suddenly became dizzy with the smell that was permanently embedded into the shirt. _Bane. _

Swallowing once Jenna had fit her head and arm through the proper holes, she glanced down to feed her right arm through the large and free-hanging sleeve, holding her breath all the while, but once she finally inhaled again, she was greeted with that scent of him, a scent that she could not place, but had admittedly once enjoyed. Now, however, it was making her feel dizzy.

The bottom of the shirt hung down to the middle of her thighs while the sleeves ended just above her elbows, the collar of the shirt hanging down slightly as well. As Jenna glanced down at herself, she had a hard time believing this huge shirt was so fitted and tight against Bane. The shirt seemed to only put his massive size into better perspective for her.

Having no other choice at the moment, she was forced to put on the same underwear she had been wearing, after deeming them clean enough, of course, and she knew once her laundry was done, she could immediately change. She had wanted to put her pants on again, but after discovering they had become wet and damn due to her towel laying on them and smelled like the murky outdoors, she was forced to change her mind with a scowl and a large, defeated sigh.

Taking a step back from her clothes, and feeling the bottom of Bane' shirt rub against her legs as she did so, she let out a small sigh through her nose while reminding herself of the positive outcomes that would stem from this. At the same time, when she glanced back down to her clothes, she wondered if she had enough time to add them to the laundry that was already going, or still had to be put on. She stepped forward to pick up the clothes, but as soon as she had them in her arms she paused, Bane flashing through her mind. Despite everything he had forced her to go through, and the immense terror he had caused her to feel the day before, it was not only bewildering, but stupidly kind of him to have done her such a great favor. She had meaning to ask Isaac about her laundry for a while, but after being locked away for a month, too tired to even speak, and after all that had recently happened, she had simply and easily forgotten. While she was terribly curious as to _why _Bane had suddenly done this, for _her_, she suddenly could not escape the need to at least thank him, to at least show him that she was grateful. Perhaps, if she did this, she'd be able to get back on Bane's good side, and hopefully these actions would help to keep Bane's anger about the situation at bay. Jenna knew there was probably a good chance still that Bane wasn't entirely happy with how he had handled things... He had done _nothing _about it, after all.

Taking a deep breath, Jenna turned toward her door, barely able to believe what she was about to do. Before opening the door, she glanced down, double-checking the shirt hung low enough, and once she was primarily satisfied, she opened her door and slowly stepped outside of it.

As she started toward Bane's open bedroom door, she continuously smoothed down the shirt against her legs, ensuring that it would not rise up during her walk. Once she approached his door, she found him to be sitting on his bed, staring up at the news channel on his muted TV. When he heard her approach, he turned his head, and he could not help his eyes wondering down her body. His shirt absolutely swallowed her, and only caused her slender legs to appear even more so. His eyes traveled back up her legs, lingering on the area of her upper thighs where the shirt ended, before he finally raised them all the way to glance back at her incredibly nervous face. He stared into her eyes for another few short seconds before he finally began to glance away, back to the TV.

"The shirt looks like it fits you well," he commented sarcastically.

"Yeah..." she mumbled, shifting all her weight to her left foot as she began to toy her left fingers with her right. "Um, thanks," she finally forced herself to say, trying to keep her focus on the profile of his face, though her eyes kept wandering away. "For doing my laundry, and... giving me the shirt."

"I am not _giving _you the shirt, I am letting you borrow it," Bane corrected as he stood from his bed to head over to his desk. Jenna watched him move over to it, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I-I know, I–"

"Relax, Jenna," Bane interrupted, his back still toward her as he struggled to look for something to appear busy with. "Your gratitude is accepted."

Jenna nodded to herself as she glanced down, flashes of Bane's curious expression entering her mind when his eyes had wondered over her body. The thought caused a small shock to travel up her spine and sting her neck, but she held back a shiver due to this as she cleared her throat.

"The clothes... that I was wearing. Is there still time to wash those, too?"

"Should be," Bane replied, finally giving up in his search to find some busy work. He hadn't ever anticipated his and Jenna's encounter to be so awkward and tense. Before he was able to pick up on her nervous energy, of course, but now it was different. Now he was feeling the same way, positive that Jenna understood what he was trying to do. He thought back to Barsad and Jenna in the garage the night before, and how awkward they had appeared to be. He wondered if Jenna felt as though facing Bane was worse than facing Barsad...

He made himself turn around to glance at her, and when he did he saw she was still just awkwardly standing there, toying with her fingers. When his gaze dropped down to her hands, they wandered onto her cast before he lifted them back up to look at her face.

"How's your arm?"

"It's... fine," Jenna replied with a small nod, wondering desperately why she was still standing there, in his room, and conversing with him. Even more so, she wondered why Bane was even allowing it in the first place, or even initiating the conversation, for that matter. "Feeling better, I guess."

Bane nodded as he glanced away.

"Hey, what's an air cast?" Jenna suddenly asked, both surprising herself and Bane, which was evident by the way his eyes widened when he glanced up at her. "Isaac mentioned something about it, but I don't..." she trailed off, wondering if bringing up Isaac's name had been a terrible idea.

But Bane remained patient as he leaned against his desk. "It's a lightweight cast that allows air flow and more movement," he replied, "made primarily out of plastic."

Jenna couldn't deny this cast sounded a million times better than the one she already bared, and too curious to leave his room at the moment, she kept on with the conversation, figuring she was okay since Bane appeared patient, and hadn't gotten angry upon Jenna mentioning Isaac's name.

"Do you think my arm's ready for that?"

It was astonishing to Bane that he and Jenna were holding a conversation about her arm with out either of their previous feelings on that situation arising. Bane felt fine talking to Jenna currently, a little pathetic maybe, but it amazed him to see Jenna appeared to be over her grudge toward it. Apparently, some good had come of it, after all.

"Can you move it around?"

"I think so," Jenna replied.

"Then you should be ready for it," Bane assured with a nod. Jenna nodded as well, glancing away in unison with him. Although she had tamed the awkward energy with Isaac, now it seemed to exist with Bane. It was an unusual feeling Jenna wasn't used to experiencing with Bane. Usually she felt anxious or frightened. Now she just felt tense and uneasy.

"Alright well, I'm gonna go add those clothes," Jenna stumbled through her words, struggling, again, to keep eye contact with Bane once he glanced back at her. "Thanks, again..."

Giving her a simple nod as his answer, Jenna immediately turned around to start out of his room, and Bane couldn't help his eyes immediately wandering down to watch the bottom of his shirt sway against her legs. He closed his eyes before he could stare any longer, and with a sigh he leaned away from his desk, not entirely sure if he should feel pleased with what he was starting to desire, or disgusted...

* * *

**A faster update, as desired! Hope you enjoyed! Please review if YOU LOVE BANE AND JENNA.**

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	25. A Better Path

After collecting the last of her dirty clothes, her cigarettes and lighter, Jenna began for the basement stairs, unable to help but to glance over to her left to peek into Bane's room. While his door was still open and his light still on, she did not see him inside, and while struggling to convince herself she did not care, she faced forward again to finally start up the stairs.

Bane's behavior was extremely peculiar to her. It was so out of the ordinary for him to have done her laundry, let alone do anything nice at all. Given his past, all the terror he brought on Gotham city, the horror he had brought onto Jenna: threatening her, kidnapping her, killing her parents, forcing her to live in this hell, and, of course, breaking her arm and all the torture he had inflicted on her the past month. Along with all of this, he had even found a way to inflict that same horror and torture on her in her _dreams_. In Bane's mind, she knew, he figured that all he was doing to her could be considered a favor, in someway.

_ "From what I can make of it, this is not Hell for you. This is... something better... All you've ever wanted was to get away from your life. And now you've done so, even if it was in the worst way possible."_

It seemed like Bane had said this to her years ago, when in reality it had only been a few months. At the time, all Jenna had felt was hatred toward him and his words, but now she realized that, in Bane's mind, he had seen his actions of kidnapping her as a favor. Jenna had to admit at the time all she had been desiring was a means of escape from her family and from her life. Granted she could have never anticipated it happening this way, she knew Bane's words did carry some truth, and thinking back to this reinforced her theory.

Forcing her to do all that she had been around the warehouse, breaking her arm, locking her away, and now even doing her laundry; it made sense to her that these were all acts of kindness, in some sort of sick way, in Bane's mind. At the same time, she knew this was only a mere theory, and it made even more sense for Bane to lack a single kind bone in his body, but this still didn't explain the laundry.

The garage was even colder than the warehouse, and as she immediately headed straight from the door to head into the area of the garage she had never been, goosebumps covering her bare legs as she sought out the washer and dryer, she could hear voices near the larger garage doors, and she wondered if Isaac was among them. Desires of asking him, point blank, about Bane's actions sounded good, though at the same time Jenna felt as though she didn't want the answers, granted Isaac would even give them to her anyway. Chances are, he'd be just as confused as she was.

Just as Bane said they were, the machines were located in the far, darkest corner of the garage, and as she approached them, she glanced up to glare at the dim, flickering light just above the machines. Frowning, and growing nervous due to her current, bare-legged state among Bane's thugs, she glanced down just as she approached the machines, and she took in a deep breath as she listened to the dryer next to the washer, tumbling around the first load of her clothes. Glancing down to the right of the washer, she saw all of her dirty clothes in a giant mound on the floor, and her frown deepened as she thought back to how nasty the floor in the garage really was. But Jenna realized quickly that the fact that the warehouse even had a washer and dryer was outstanding; she couldn't expect for Bane to be carrying around many hampers or iron boards.

Lifting the lid of the washer, Jenna began to place her clothes inside of it, figuring it was up to her now to finish her laundry. She was fine with this. Clean clothes were a new found luxury to her, it seemed, and the longer she began to load up the washer, the more, truly thankful she began to feel toward Bane's spontaneous actions.

After she figured out how to start the washer, added the soap that was located on a metal shelf to her left, and closed the lid, she picked up her cigarettes and lighter that she had left on the dryer and began toward the more open part of the garage, where she could now see various henchmen standing around and talking. Her eyes skimmed over them as she approached, searching for Isaac, but unable to find him, and finally noticing his truck was nowhere near the garage, she let out a sigh, remembering he had told her he'd be leaving. A few of the men were staring at her now, and without even so much as a quick glance back, Jenna immediately retreated back into the warehouse to head down into the basement.

Still wondering if she was allowed to smoke in her room or not, Jenna headed inside of it, and once she sat down on the floor in front of the side of her cot to lean her back against the wall, she deemed the issue as unimportant for now as she brought her knees up to her chin, after tucking her legs inside of Bane's shirt. After placing her cigarette in between her lips, she held the lighter up to the end of it, and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes when she noticed she hadn't even closed her door all of the way.

Inhaling slowly and exhaling heavily, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall, and as the cigarette burned from in between her fingers, she had to wonder when life at the warehouse had gotten so complicated. _It definitely started when he broke my arm_, she thought to herself. Before then, and even during that very day, things had been going so much better, even if it was in the sickest ways possible. Granted she had been getting more and more involved with Bane each and every passing second, life at the warehouse had been so much simpler, it seemed. Bane was starting to accept her and scare her less, and while things may have not been the best between Jenna and Isaac always, it sure as hell wasn't awkward. Thinking back, it had been so easy for Jenna to store all her trust and comfort into Isaac... how had she ever managed to do that with Bane?

It seemed like it was so long ago that Jenna had been so involved with Bane. Granted it wasn't really on any sort of emotional level like it had been with Isaac, she could always feel something there, some kind of force that always pulled her toward him, no matter what she desired or how wrong it was. Now, even after all that Bane had done and threatened, Jenna had _almost _felt that feeling again just minutes ago, after he had given her his shirt.

Shutting her eyes tighter, Jenna took another drag from her cigarette, wishing she could avoid those feelings all together. It wasn't fair. Even after all that he had done to her, Jenna was starting to get those lustful shocks and chills whenever he was near her, or even speaking to her, and she couldn't understand why. She hated him, didn't she? Well... at least she was _supposed_ to. But even more so, Bane should be the one hating her... Granted those hate feelings would ultimately be Jenna's downfall –if Bane really did hate her it would lead him to finally kill her– but it made sense, didn't it?

Shaking her head, Jenna took another drag, suddenly realizing that dealing with her mother's modeling photo shoot didn't sound too bad right now, in comparison to the situation she had put herself in. Thinking about it further, she began to desire Isaac's company. She wanted to talk to him, and tell him about how odd Bane was acting toward her. Perhaps he'd understand why. But just because they had both come to terms with what they had done and put an end –hopefully– to the awkwardness, did that give Jenna the authority to hang out with him like they had been? Did Isaac want to? Would Bane be accepting of that?

As soon as she had thought this, she heard footsteps approaching her door, and she held her breath when she realized they belonged to Bane's. His heavy footfall was unmistakeable, and his boots collided loudly against the concrete floor with each step he took. As she listened, her heart already starting to pound, Jenna lifted her eyes toward the door to stared at it, waiting to see if Bane would actually approach her room. Sure enough the footsteps stopped just when they had reached a louder level to her ears, and as soon as they had, Bane pushed her door open gently. At first, his eyes had focused on her bed, but when he saw she wasn't there, he glanced down to his right, where he found Jenna curled into a ball, completely _inside _his shirt, on the floor. His eyebrows met in the middle at this, but he disregarded it for the time being.

Jenna had been staring at him the entire time, and she noticed the way his eyebrows had furrowed and the curious expression that had touched his eyes once he found her sitting on the floor. She realized she was still holding her breath, and although she had tried to avoid it, she released her breath noisily. Thinning her lips, she turned her head away as she absentmindedly took another drag from her cigarette, but when she felt Bane's eyes on her still, and when she turned her head to confirm that he _was _still staring at her, she began to wonder if this was the reason Bane had even approached her in the first place.

Slowly, she took the cigarette from her mouth, and before speaking she exhaled her smoke equally as slow, all while looking Bane in the eye. "Am I... not allowed to do this in here?"

Bane stared at her for another few seconds before he shrugged, and he crossed his arms as he pushed open the door further with his boot to take a full step inside the room. "It was never a spoken rule," he replied. "But considering your... circumstance, I'll accept it this last time."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed in confusion due to Bane's words, and again, his current, odd behavior. Why was he being so... _nice_, and patient toward her suddenly? "Circumstance?"

Without having to say a word, Bane simply dropped his gaze and lowered his head slightly, gesturing to his massive shirt that covered almost all of Jenna's frame. Absentmindedly, Jenna followed his movement and glanced down herself, and once she realized what he was talking about, her eyes widened slightly in understanding as she nodded.

"Oh." Jenna glanced away, and now, since she had Bane's permission, she allowed herself to take another drag from her cigarette before she turned back to him. "Can you smell it?"

Jenna paused the moment the question escaped past her lips, and she stared, motionless, at Bane, unable to recall ever having the desire to know the answer to this question, let alone think of it.

Bane kept his eyes on her all the while, and no expression ever touched his face to show how rather thrown-off he was about her question, as well. "If I'm close enough, yes," he replied.

"Is that why I can't smoke in here?" Jenna asked back.

"No."

"Then why?" She returned quickly, only to back down slightly when Bane's eyes narrowed on her.

"Because this is my warehouse," Bane said. "And what I say _goes_."

Raising her eyebrows slightly, Jenna glanced away from him, rolling her eyes slightly as she did so, and unbeknownst to her, Bane couldn't help the small grin that appeared from behind his mask upon witnessing some of the old Jenna. Although Bane's goals had been to correct Jenna's childish behavior after all, seeing some of Jenna's old characteristics show through her hardened shell were welcoming. Granted they were the traits he had strived to rid her of, seeing them again reminded him of why he had taken her in the first place and kept her around. But even if any of these traits had ever been annoying at some point, it was rather refreshing to see _some _kind of personality in her again. He knew Barsad had seen it already, but he hadn't really until now, and this thought made him realize he was more than ready to see Jenna acting more like herself again... _Unfortunately... _

The room grew silent for a moment or so, and when the weight of the silence grew too heavy for Jenna, she turned toward him again, desiring to break the silence suddenly.

"Do you know when Isaac will be back?"

The question let her mouth before she could hold it back, _again_, and she immediately closed her mouth and swallowed when she could have sworn she saw Bane tense up. _Idiot_, she thought. _You saw how he acted when he found out what you and Isaac did. I can't believe you just asked that... _

It wasn't fair though. Isaac was Jenna's only light at the end of the pitch black tunnel, her only hope, her primary means of surviving in her Hellish life. She understood what she and Isaac had done was wrong, but she began to wonder why Bane couldn't see just how much she needed him. After all had been forgiven and forgotten, Jenna wasn't entirely sure who to put the blame on anymore, if anyone at all, but she began to realize Bane must be feeling _somewhat _guilty over it all. Why else would he have reacted how he did? Did he blame himself, or were his reactions due to something else?

Regardless, just because he had done her a kindness and was acting rather nicely toward her didn't change the fact that Jenna wanted to spend her time with Isaac. Not how they had been nights prior, but as _friends_. As the silence went on, Jenna could feel her heart sinking into her stomach as she waited for Bane to, once again, say that she couldn't see him anymore. His nicer attitude would be lost, and would be replaced with a rash tone and harsh words. She could already hear his words in her head, and just when she began to feel as though he had already said it, she raised her hand and shook her head slightly.

"Nevermind," she said. "I'm probably not even allowed to see him anymore anyway..." She turned her head down and away from him as she took another drag from her cigarette, and as she exhaled, she absentmindedly put it out on the floor next to her, even though she still would have been able to get a few more hits off of it.

It was more than tempting to confirm Jenna's words, but Bane forced himself to hold back. _What good would it be? _He wondered. He recalled how he had felt just minutes ago upon seeing some of the old Jenna return back to her; if he was to keep her from seeing Isaac, _again_, it would only cause her to revert back to her hardened shell. He wasn't going to force Jenna to stay away from Isaac again. Admitting his true feelings to himself, he realized that would be cruel toward her. He understood Jenna and Isaac's means for a friendship, but he couldn't understand why Jenna had to run to _him _for every little thing. _Are you saying you want her to run to _you_? You couldn't stand it before... _

Blinking, Bane cleared the thought from his head quickly. "What is it about Barsad that always has you running back to him?" Bane asked, truly desiring an answer to this, and when Jenna glanced up at him again, he widened his eyes slightly in curiosity.

Jenna's lips parted, but she struggled with her answer at first, thrown-off completely by his question. She had been expecting him to confirm what she had said, not ask her a question of his own. "He... he helps me," she replied as she glanced down again. "He's the only one that's nice to me."

When Bane chuckled, it caught Jenna by surprise, and she glanced up at him again with furrowed eyebrows just in enough time to watch Bane lean against the same wall she was, his arms still crossed over his muscular chest. Staring up at him from her lowered angle only made him appear twenty times as monstrous, but the laugh that was escaping through his mask helped to keep her anxiety at bay.

"You bother him so much because he is _nice _to you? If that's a trait that you possess then I'm surprised you don't have more friends-"

"I don't bother him," Jenna interrupted, her expression going flat. "He's the only one that _cares _to help me. He's been the only one to help since the day I got here. He's... real," she went on as she glanced down again.

"Real?" Bane mused, his tone humorous, but deep down he wanted to keep probing her for these answers that he truly desired. He could see she was getting frustrated as well, and this only made him want to see more of her personality break through. "While the rest of us are just... imaginary?"

Jenna's head shot up for her to look in his direction again, and Bane didn't bother holding back his grin due to her annoyed expression and the way her body tensed. "_No_," she replied. _Are you really this stupid? _She thought sourly to herself, although she knew Bane was only kidding around. "There's more to him than just killing people and following _your _orders. Clearly you must think so too, otherwise he wouldn't hold the rank he does with you"

Bane nodded. "Like what?" he pressed on, knowing very well that he was not only filling Jenna with annoyance, but with confusion and curiosity due to his behavior, as well. It was evident in her facial expression.

"I don't know," Jenna sighed, giving up easily. "Just forget it." She loosened her body before she titled her head back to rest against the wall, suddenly wishing she hadn't put out her cigarette. She considering lighting up a new one, but she only had a few more in her pack, and she still wasn't sure when Isaac would be back. Not only that, but she had a feeling Bane would not allow her to smoke another.

Sighing again, Jenna placed her arms around her knees as she closed her eyes, feeling frustrated, though she wasn't entirely sure why. "Is there a reason you came in here?"

Bane's grin immediately faded as he continued to look at her. He wanted to feel aggravated due to her tone and the question she had asked, but he knew it wouldn't be right, not after all that he had thought and realized. With a sigh of his own, he leaned away from the wall and took a step toward Jenna's cot.

"I'll be honest with you Jenna," he began, his voice a lower pitch now, and when Jenna heard him sit down on her cot, she opened her eyes and tilted her head down to look at him, watching as he leaned forward while placing his arms on his spread legs to lean over them. "It is... refreshing to see you acting so like yourself again, but do not think for a moment you can take any tone you want with me. This may be the room you stay in, but it is still belongs to _me. _But yes, there is a reason I came to talk to you."

Jenna could feel her head spinning slightly, a feeling she hadn't felt in a while. She was thrown back into the past during a time where Bane remained patient with her, but always set her straight using that firm, low voice of his. But even with this feeling, she was struck with shock due to Bane admitting he was enjoying witnessing her old behavior. _The fuck? _She thought to herself.

"You remember Karly, don't you?"

Unable to help it, Jenna immediately rolled her eyes upon hearing the name. "How could I forget?" she replied, keeping her eyes focused on the top corner of her cot.

Bane smirked slightly, but as soon as the expression overcame his face, it faded away. "I'm expecting a visit from her today."

Furrowing her eyebrows again, Jenna glanced over to him. "For what?"

"To thank her for her services and send her on her way," Bane replied in a calmer, smoother voice this time.

"But, what about all that she was planning? Remember I-"

"That has not gone unforgotten, Jenna, and she can expect a... _confrontation _when she gets here."

Jenna couldn't help the frown that stretched down her plump lips, and she shrugged. "So that's it? A slap on the wrist and then you're letting her get away with it?"

"Oh, she won't be getting away with it, Jenna."

"Then what are you going to do?"

Just barely, Jenna could see the very small and very faint wrinkles that appeared at the sides of Bane's darkened eyes, and she felt her heart finally fall completely into her stomach as Bane continued to just look at her before finally answering in the most careless and calm voice through his mask: "kill her."

Thinning her lips, Jenna nodded slightly before leaning back against the wall. Bane was going to kill her? Granted it was definitely something he would do, Jenna wasn't so sure why his words were leaving her feeling so dizzy and even the slightest bit anxious. Since the day Jenna had met her she had wanted Karly dead, deep down. But now that it was _actually_ going to happen?

Lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly stretched her legs out, exposing her bare skin from under the shirt as she did so. Bane's eyes immediately dropped down to them, and they wandered from her feet up the length of her legs until they reached the bottom of shirt, and once his eyes rested on this area, he quickly reverted them upward to look back at her face.

"She'll be here in an hour," he said, finally standing from the cot. Jenna glanced back up at him, and she watched him slowly stand up before she raised her eyes further to look up into his own. "I figured I'd come and invite you to witness this, given how much you appear to dislike her. The choice is yours," he added before finally turning to head out of her room. As he gently closed the door behind him, he paused, his hand still on the handle. He began to desire turning around and _commanding _Jenna to come outside and witness, for some reason it was something he wanted her to see, but with just a little further thought, Bane let his hand slide down and away from the door handle, and he began to head back to his room.

–

The next hour passed rather quickly to Jenna. She had been so consumed with her thoughts, she hadn't even realized how much time had passed until she was snapped out of her daze.

After Bane had mentioned he would actually be killing Karly, it took Jenna back to her first night in the warehouse. So clearly, she could remember Bane's heavy hands on her head, his body ready to twist her head and snap her neck all within a matter of seconds. She was taken back to her house, when Bane had killed her parents, and she remembered how ruthless he had been toward them. His conditions for keeping Jenna alive had been to force her into _watching _her parents die by his hands. Whether she liked her parents or not, regretted her choice or not, watching Bane kill them had been brutal, to say the least, and haunting. She knew that Bane was a killer, but watching him do it was a whole different story.

After reminiscing on her father's fast death, and her mother's pleas for help before her life was abruptly ended, Jenna felt a strong pang break through her heart when she thought back to her nightmare. She had been so certain it was real, that Bane really did kill Rodger, but even with much reassurance that it was nothing more than a mere dream, Jenna could still feel those lasting effects from it as if it had really happened. Bane had been so disgustingly merciless, and uncaring about _anything_, especially how Jenna felt.

_But this is different, _she told herself. _You don't _care_ about Karly. Who cares what Bane does to her? _

This was true, Jenna knew, but still, there was just something she feared about watching him do it. Granted he would be killing someone Jenna couldn't care less about, watching the deed would only remind her of herself, her parents, and Rodger...

_Then don't go. You don't _have _to watch him. Nobody's forcing you._

As soon as Jenna had this thought, she thought her mind had been made up. There was no need to be a witness, and if she could avoiding watching it and being reminded of the tragedies in her life, even if one hadn't even come true, then she would stay away. But by the time the hour was up, and she began to crave another cigarette, Jenna heard Bane's boots colliding with the floor as he started slowly and patiently toward the stairs. Still sitting against the wall, she listened to his footfall fade away before she listened to the garage door right by the stairs open, and as soon as it closed, and some kind of heavy jingling was heard after, she let out a huge sigh. Why was it she could never do what was smart?

Desires of smoking and seeing if Isaac was back were too overwhelming, and if she were being honest with herself, she was a _little _curious to see how Karly's life would end. Jenna really did dislike her, and after all the trouble Jenna had gone through with finding out about Karly's deceitful ways, informing Bane of them and gaining his trust on the subject, it made sense that she would want to see this sick form of 'justice', right?

Sighing loudly, Jenna finally stood up from the ground, flinching when her hips gave out a quick spurt of pain, but she got over it quickly as she leaned back, stretching out her back after sitting for so long. When she felt the bottom of of Bane's shirt rub against her thighs lightly, she let out a small growl in annoyance as she pulled the shirt down. She wanted to smoke, she wanted to see if Isaac was back, and she was curious about Karly, but was she _really _about to go stand out there in nothing but this shirt? Was any of it worth it?

When images of her and Isaac smoking together entered her mind, she decided it was. The shirt was long enough to cover her, and besides, she had once worn even shorter outfits in public plenty of times.

After she grabbed her pack of smokes and her lighter from the ground, she opened her door and began toward the stairs, stealing a quick glance at the mayor, who appeared to look awfully anxious. She tried to ignore his expression as he stared up at her, however, as she started up the stairs, and once she reached the garage door, she slowly reached out to place her hand on the handle, but when she went to pull it, the door wouldn't give way. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull open the door a few more times, but when this failed, she gave up and let her hand fall to her side. With a quiet grumble, she started down the stairs again and marched into her room, where she then proceeded with grabbing her combat boots and sitting on the foot of her cot.

After she had tucked in her laces and slid them on her bare feet, she was able to feel how ridiculous she more than likely looked as she trudged up the stairs, feeling the top of her boots and the bottom of Bane's shirt rubbing against her legs with each step. Just as she was hoping there would not be deep snow drifts on the ground outside, or that there wouldn't be very many people in the garage, as soon as she opened the exit door she was relieved to see there was not much snow on the ground, and that the sun was actually shining up above in the nearly clear sky. However, she could see the garage was was occupied by the same men who had been standing inside of it before, but amongst the people, Jenna's eyes focused on Isaac's truck parked in front of the garage. As relief spread over her, she took a step outside, letting the door close behind her, but as soon as she started toward the garage, the noise from her walking catching the attention of the men inside, she felt herself wanting to recede and hide back in the warehouse. She lifted her eyes for them to wander over the few men who were staring at her. They were large themselves, gruff and mean-looking, but they definitely didn't compare to the beast that was standing directly in the middle of the garage, and in the middle of the thugs.

Bane's arms were crossed over his chest as he stared out and down the road that led away from the warehouse, his massive body completely still as he waited. Jenna's eyes stayed focused on him for another few steps before she finally began looking around the garage, searching for Isaac. Before she found him, she saw that Karly was nowhere in sight, and when she found Isaac standing back in the shadows of the first row of shelving, she figured they were all waiting for her to show up.

Once she made it to the garage and finally took a step in, Isaac raised his head up from focusing on the large gun in his hands, and Jenna noticed the way his eyebrows immediately furrowed when he laid his eyes on her, his blue orbs wandering up and down her body before he finally met her eyes. Bane had finally noticed her walking in as well, and as she passed him, he turned his head and glanced down at her, a miniscule shock stinging the back of his neck upon seeing Jenna in nothing but his shirt and her combat boots. He turned his head further to glance at her from over his shoulder, his eyes moving up and down her body one more time before he noticed Barsad's confused expression as Jenna approached him. Tightening his lips slightly, Bane finally turned around to watch the road again, but suddenly he was unable to get that image of Jenna out of his mind...

"What..." Isaac began once Jenna had reached him, his eyes wandering down to her boots then back up to her face. "What's this?" A sly grin began to stretch his lips, but before it could expand into a full, humorous smile, Jenna interrupted him.

"Don't ask," she groaned as she rolled her eyes, and she turned around to stand next to Isaac and face the same way he was. "Do you want a cigarette?" She asked as she began to pull out her second to last one.

Isaac shook his head. "Can't right now," he replied.

"Why?" Jenna wondered as she she lit up the cigarette before placing the lighter and pack down on the ground next to her, and once she leaned up she glanced up in just enough time to watch Isaac nod toward the outside of the garage.

"Duty calls."

Turning her head, Jenna watched as a yellow taxi cab began toward the warehouse, and she jumped slightly when Isaac lifted his gun up, preparing himself before he started over to Bane. She watched him step away from her before he stopped a foot or two behind Bane, and she furrowed her eyebrows. How did he always know what to do, even without having to be told?

Deeming that thought as unimportant, anxiety began to take her over slowly as the taxi grew closer and closer, and Jenna lifted her hand to her lips to take another slow hit of her cigarette.

"Keep your weapons lowered," Bane commanded in a low voice just as the taxi cab had approached the front of the warehouse. "Do not fire unless I command it."

None of the henchmen moved, for their weapons had already been lowered, but she noticed that Isaac kept his raised, holding it just above his hips, reading to turn it and fire at any second. It appeared as though he and Bane were on better terms, but before Jenna could distract herself with the thought, the taxi cab parked, and Jenna watched the passenger side door open before Karly stepped out, her bright red hair swaying in the slight breeze while her heels clicked against the ground, and already Jenna couldn't help but to feel annoyed at her apparent confidence.

"What's with all the added security?" Karly asked confidently as she strutted into the warehouse, moving bravely past the henchmen that were standing there. Jenna watched her glance down to eye the machinery in the hands of the thugs, but just when a nervous expression touched her eyes, she glanced back up to look into the eyes of Bane. "I'm just here to collect my payment."

Her eyebrows meeting the in the middle, Jenna had to wonder if this was Karly's big plan. Based on what she had learned, it seemed as though Karly had been putting together her own plan for robbing or killing Bane and obtaining the necessary helped she had need. But yet here she was, _alone_, with nothing but a taxi driver sitting in the cab, appearing bored as he waited. This was confusing, as well. Why didn't the driver look frightened out of his mind? Why wasn't Bane doing anything about the random taxi driver? Unless, he wasn't so random...

Still standing in his same position, Bane nodded slightly before he took a small step toward Karly, his eyes raising to look at the man in the taxi before he lowered them back to Karly, who, he noticed, was still struggling to hold her ground confidently. "There will be no collection of money today, Karly."

Karly frowned as she stared up at him, and Jenna watched her take a small step back from Bane, clearing her throat after. "I thought we had arranged I would be collecting my payment for my services today. It is very unlike you, Bane, to not be... prepared, for such an arrangement." She had trailed off slightly when she glanced around, taking notice of the weapons again, and Jenna had a feeling she was beginning to realize something was not right. _About time, idiot, _she thought sourly as she took another drag from her cigarette.

"You're right," Bane agreed easily. "However, I _am _prepared for the new arrangement that is in store for you..."

Her eyebrows meeting in the middle, Karly slowly glanced back up to Bane. "N-new arrangement?"

"Oh, yes," Bane said as he finally uncrossed his arms, and he loosened his body as he took a small step back. "I was told from an old reliable source that an act of deceit was at bay, and a plan was being concocted... by _you_," Bane added once a false, confused expression began to distort Karly's features. "And upon further inspection, that source had been correct."

"Bane, I don't know-"

Ignoring her, Bane glanced over his shoulder, his eyes instantly finding Jenna in the shadows behind him, and he turned his body slightly to hold out his hand toward her. Jenna felt her entire body go limp at this as the garage began to spin, but she could feel the impatience radiating off of Bane, the waves being directed right to her. Swallowing, she cautiously took a step forward, her eyes falling from Bane and onto Karly, who appeared to be fuming as she glared at Jenna, finally noticing she was in the garage, too. Oddly, even after all this time, Karly's resentment toward her only caused Jenna to feel pleased, and a small smirk tugged at the corners of her lips, but once she was a foot away from Bane, she kept herself from smirking fully as she looked up at him. His hand was still out, and just when she stopped by him, her eyes dropping to his hand, she wondered if she was supposed to place her hand in his, or if it was just his silent way of beckoning her over. Her mind was screaming at her to stay put, reminding her of all that he had done to her, all the pain and torture and confusion, but Bane was _still _staying like that, even after she had approached him. Disobeying her shouting mind in a nervous instant, she dropped her half finished cigarette to the ground before placing her tiny hand hand in his.

His large fingers instantly closed around hers softly but firmly, causing an amplified shock to sting her entire body, and Jenna gasped lightly when Bane tugged her closer to himself. Once Jenna was standing directly next to him, Bane finally let go of her hand, and a rush of cold overcame the skin there due to his action. His hand had been so warm...

"I'm sure it's safe to assume that you remember Jenna," Bane began as he turned back to Karly. Fortunately, she nor Bane had been looking at Jenna, for when Bane absentmindedly placed his hand on the small of Jenna's back as a means of gesturing to her, Jenna's eyes widened as her lips parted, and she gasped lightly again as she stumbled forward due to the shock. Unable to help it, Jenna nervously turned slightly to glance over to Isaac, desperate suddenly for some sort of reassurance, but Isaac was too focused on the task at hand. His hands were clutching his gun tightly, and his eyes were firmly bouncing back and forth between Karly and the taxi driver, his expression flat and focused. Parting her lips to let out another nervous breath, Jenna faced forward again to look at Karly, Bane's hand feeling as though it weighed a thousand pounds, and as soon as Jenna realized Karly was glaring at her, Jenna quickly corrected her shocked expression.

Karly's eyes went from Jenna's down to her cast, and a smirk played upon her lips as she crossed her own arms, rubbing the mobility of _both _of her arms in Jenna's face, no doubt "How could I forget?" She replied in an obvious, annoyed tone when she looked back up to Bane with pursed, glossy lips.

A grin formed on Bane's lips and touched his eyes, and he glanced down to look at Jenna. Jenna looked up to him as well, her lips parting again, her eyes slightly widened, and she knew what Bane had been grinning about; that had been Jenna's exact answer when Bane had asked her if she remembered Karly.

"You see," Bane began again as he turned his head toward Karly, "Jenna did not only me, but my entire army a kindness when she informed me of your deceit."

"Deceit?" Karly tried to play it off, again, and Jenna couldn't help the scowl that overcame her face. Regardless of how she had been feeling just minutes prior in her room, suddenly she felt herself getting impatient. _C'mon, Bane... _

"Do not play dumb with me, Karly, it is too late."

"What could she have told you that is possibly true?" Karly went on, her tone suggesting she was rather offended. Jenna rolled her eyes. "Besides, when I was hired I was not told I would be getting _check ups. _That was not part of the deal."

"You would be correct" Bane agreed again, and Jenna couldn't help the loud sigh that escaped past her. As soon as the noise was heard, however, she felt Bane clutch at the fabric of her shirt ever so slightly, his fingers brushing against her from over the shirt, urging her to stay quiet, and as her heart fell past her stomach in another fit of shock, anxiety and confused feelings, she immediately closed her mouth. "But I'm sure you understand why I can't just hire _anybody _to help within my operations without me having to surveillance them. That would prove to be rather... hazardous to my army."

Karly's eyes narrowed, her 'confused' expression hardening her face into a look of anger and slight desperation. She uncrossed her arms and straightened her posture, and was even daring enough to take a small step closer to Bane. Confidence shined in her eyes now, and Jenna's eyes narrowed on Karly when she smirked up at Bane.

"Okay, no more games, _Mister Bane. _But perhaps you should have surveyed me a littler closer, because any second now you will meet your ultimate downfall. My father was right about you," she added, her smirk turning into a full on grin as she took a step back, and as she did so, Bane dropped his hand from Jenna's back, remaining patient all the while as his fingers slowly trailed across Jenna's back before he held his arm stationary at his side. He lifted his eyes to glance past Karly and onto the road in front of the garage, and he watched two trucks –one belonging to his army and another belonging to Karly– making their way over to the warehouse.

"You're nothing but a self-consumed, over confident and unprepared sorry excuse for a man."

Overcome by her words, Jenna couldn't help the way her eyes widened and her jaw drop as she glanced up to Bane. She had never, _ever_, heard anybody insult him, even if that insult was as petty as Karly's was. But Bane remained still, his muscular arms laying still at his sides, and he continued to just look at Karly. This confused Jenna, and with a frown she took a minuscule step back. She turned her head to look over at Isaac, and as soon as her eyes found him, she watched him suddenly march forward to start toward the taxi driver while the others began out of the garage as well. Karly had glanced to her left and right to watch the men leave, and just when a worried expression began to overcome her features, Bane spoke up.

"And Jenna was right about _you_. You are deceitful, unprofessional, and above all, _clueless. _I'm afraid it is _you _who will be meeting your ultimate downfall, Miss Treaffluw."

Just when Karly's eyebrows furrowed and the loud sound of two truck engines hit her ears, several things happened simultaneously before Jenna's eyes. Just when Karly began to turn around in confused shock, Bane reached out and immediately took a strong hold of her. Jenna jumped back once his hands made impact with her body, and she watched him grab her wrist before turning her arm backwards and up to hold it behind her back, and Jenna cringed when she heard something snap. Shouting out, Karly struggled to run away from him, but Bane's hold was too strong, and she was forced to stay submissive as she watched Bane's men storm the two trucks were now parked in front of the garage.

Tearing her eyes away from Bane's flexed muscles and the profile of Karly's pained and rightfully frightened face, Jenna's eyes immediately found the chaos that was happening outside. Bane's men were stepping out of the trucks while the others were pulling out what had to be Karly's hired help from them as well, their hands and ankles already bound together. They tossed them from the trucks, one by one, their bodies colliding painfully against the ground, and Jenna couldn't help but to cringe each time she heard the sound as she took another step back.

Suddenly, her eyes found Isaac in the front by the taxi, and she watched him yank open the door before grabbing the driver by the shirt to pull him out of the cab. But before he could be removed completely from the car, he reached out to grab a hand gun from the floor, and Jenna's eyes widened as she took a step forward, her body trembling as her her lips parted, preparing her to yell out to him. But as soon as the driver was pulled from the cab, Isaac spun around and stepped down heavily on his hand just as he had been raising the gun, and he kept his hand pinned down painfully against the ground as he kicked the hand gun away from the driver, the barrel of Isaac's gun pressed against the driver's head the entire time. Slight relief swarmed her body due to this, but Jenna's breath hitched in her throat as she stumbled back.

This was _exactly _how her Rodger nightmare had been. Isaac was appearing just as he had in her dream, right before Jenna's eyes, and suddenly she found herself having a hard time watching him. His lips were thinned, his nostrils flared angrily as he kept his eyes planted firmly on the driver, and Jenna could tell he was putting all his weight on the foot that was holding the driver's hand against the pavement, the man swearing in pain all the while. Her heart racing, Jenna tried to swallow back the lump that had risen in her throat, but all she could do was wonder how such a sweet, caring and friendly man existed in the brutal personbefore her. The bewilderment was freaking her out just as much as her dream had.

Without missing a beat, Isaac glanced up to Bane, Jenna following his movement, and when she looked at Bane as well she watched him give his second in command a small and simple nod before Isaac glanced down to the driver, and before Jenna could look away Isaac pulled the trigger, the bang from his gun causing Jenna to jump and clench her eyes closed. But even with doing so, Jenna had not missed the wide rang of blood, skull and brain splatter, and Karly's obnoxious scream didn't help either. Suddenly she felt as though she couldn't breathe, and she kept her mouth open as she struggled to take in as much air as she could. Upon opening her eyes, she watched Isaac, his entire front half and _face _covered in blood, step away from the body before he turned to begin assisting the rest of Bane's men with Karly's hired help. Swallowing again, Jenna turned back to Bane, and she watched Karly struggle against him as he turned his body slightly before he glanced over his shoulder, his eyes catching Jenna's.

"Jenna!" He invited her over in a loud, higher tone of voice, clearly amused. "Come! Don't you want to witness what you've been waiting for?"

Still struggling to breathe, Jenna found her feet moving to carry her body over to Bane to get a better look, even though all she could picture was Isaac's terrifying ways in her mind.

Uncaring at the moment if Jenna was actually watching or not, all Bane wanted to do now was finally rid himself of the squirming, annoying girl in front of him, and finish up with this particular mission. Keeping his hand on her broken wrist, he pushed Karly away from himself before he spun her around, shattering her wrist even more, and Karly cursed and grimaced before Bane reached his foot out to kick the back sides of her legs harshly, forcing Karly onto her knees in front of him. As soon as she fell to them, Bane wrapped his fingers tightly around her neck, Karly's good hand flying to his wrist to dig her nails into, and he shoved Karly backwards onto the floor, her legs stinging due to the painful position. As Bane leaned over her, Jenna couldn't help but to glance away. She had seen Bane in a similar stance one time to many by this point...

"It appears as though _you_ have been defeated, Karly," Bane began, staring into her eyes as he squeezed just a little bit harder, enjoying the pain in them and the reddening of her face much more than he ever thought he would. Admittedly, this felt rather good, especially after dealing with what Jenna and Barsad had done, and struggling to accept his true feelings about her. Feeling such a fragile thing in between his fingers and anticipating the feeling of it breaking in his hands was like a high to him, and he could barely hold himself back any longer. "But you can rest in near peace, knowing your efforts for the team have not gone unappreciated. Mayor Garcia wishes you the best, I'm sure..."

Despite the crippling pain flooding all over her body, her air supply being cut off, the overwhelming feeling of defeat, and the understanding that this was it for her, Karly hatefully glared up into Bane's merciless eyes. "When... my father hears about this..." she choked, Bane allowing her final words to come though, "he will_ find_ you... and he'll come after you..." She spat in a hoarse voice, the tone like music to Bane's ears.

"Good!" Bane mused, tightening his grip on her neck. "Then he can thank me in person for ridding the world of _you_."

Without another word, Bane finally tightened his fingers around her neck as much as he could, and once all the gargles and gasps from Karly faded away, he leaned up and let Karly's lifeless stay on the ground in front of him. Jenna had jumped due to the disgusting noises, her eyes having been closed all the while, but when she realized all the noise had faded away, she opened her eyes in just enough time to watch Bane approaching her. Taking in a deep breath, she backed away, her eyes widening, and Bane's eyebrows furrowed when he noticed the way she was trembling. At that moment there was much he wanted to say to her, but he hadn't seen her look this terrified since the dream she claimed to have had during her solitude. Listening to his men finish with taking control of Karly's hired help, he blinked slowly before he nodded toward the first row of shelving.

"Go inside, Jenna," he said rather lowly and softly. "I wasn't aware this was something you'd be unable to handle."

Jenna felt her face redden, and she was sure Bane had noticed this color change, but she bit her tongue and held back her words as she turned to immediately start over to the door, desiring nothing more at the moment to go inside and clear her mind, anyway.

Once she had gotten inside, however, she felt stupid for even thinking clearing her mind would be an easy thing to do. She had marched directly into her room, and she didn't even take her boots off when she collapsed down onto her cot. The cot rattled and shook due to her collision, but she easily ignored this as she closed her eyes and leaned forward, wishing the images of Isaac, Bane, the blood splatter and the sounds of cracking and breaking limbs would permanently leave her mind. She felt as though she had already witnessed this and dealt with the repercussions before. She didn't want to do it again.

It wasn't that she was sad about Karly, the driver, or anybody else losing their lives, for she couldn't care less. But rather, it was seeing Bane in that same, neck-snapping-stance that she had seen so many times already, and even more so, Isaac. He had been so terrifying, so rapid and quick, and just... so unlike himself. Jenna had only pictured him being that way in her nightmare. She would have never expected his behavior in real life to be so accurate in comparison to her dream.

Her continued trembling wasn't due to Jenna being scared they would come after her or Isaac wouldn't revert back to his old self; she was just unable to fathom the chaos she had just seen, and she had a hard time believing such an evil demon existed in Isaac. He was so calm, so friendly, so caring... but the beast she had just witnessed was quicker than lighting, merciless, and horrifying. Features that were completely opposite from the Isaac she knew.

Letting out a deep breath, Jenna finally leaned up, keeping her eyes closed, and she shook her head, wishing the images and anxious thoughts would leave her. But what else was there to possibly think about that would take her mind off of it? Her broken arm? Bane's behavior toward her... _Oh God... _

Jenna was instantly reminded of how her hand had felt in his, and how his hand had felt against her lower back. The last time she could remember Bane really touching her had been when he had broken her arm. His grip had been deathly tight, his hand burning hot, and it had filled Jenna with the strongest sense of fear she had ever experienced around him. But in the garage, when she had placed her hand in his, his grasp had been gentle, warm, and dare she say, inviting. Just thinking about it sent strong shocks up and down her spine, and she had to close her eyes again to keep from feeling too dizzy. It was a disgusting thing she feeling, and she knew these were the exact feelings she use to feel so long ago. But to suddenly be feeling them again, and so, so soon after all the horror Bane had put her through, it made no sense to her. It disgusted her. It infuriated her. How could she so easily let herself be feeling this way after _everything? _

She realized quickly, however, she _wasn't_ allowing herself to feel this way. It was an emotion she could not control, just as it had been before...

She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on her cot, but all too soon she heard those heavy boots hitting each stair as Bane began to make his way downstairs. Jenna leaned forward again quickly and opened her eyes, listening and hoping that Bane was not coming for her. He had been so sincere when he told her to go inside, but his tone had hardened when he accused her of not being able to handle what she had witnessed. _Whatever_, Jenna thought easily. _He was right... _

But sure enough, as her luck would have it, she listened to her door ease open slowly before Bane took a small step inside her room. He opened his mouth to speak, but he paused once he laid eyes on her, slouching down on the side of her cot, her eyes focused on the bottom of the wall in front of her, her arms folding on her lap. He could see her body was still trembling slightly, but he understood why. His and his army's actions had freaked her out. _Barsad's _actions had probably frightened her the most. _Pitiful, _Bane thought to himself. Jenna _knew_ what Barsad's job was, or at least, Bane had _thought _she did. But now, her behavior was causing this assumption to become questionable.

"Are you truly that panicked about what you saw?" Bane asked her as he took another step into her room. "It's nothing you haven't witnessed before," he went on, finding his patience to be at an all time high with her. Something about seeing her like this again was making him want to find out why, and truthfully, her behavior was bothering Bane. This was something that should not be scaring her anymore. "You watched your _parent's _die, Jenna, and you did not even bother looking back."

Jenna finally glanced over to him, her breath hitching in her throat again upon thinking back to how his hand had felt, but when Isaac flashed in her mind again, she glanced away. "It's not that," she replied. "It was... just..."

"Let me guess," Bane spoke up as he took another step toward her. "Barsad?"

Jenna closed her eyes, positive that she was only making Bane upset and angry again. Her body tensed, her mind so sure that if Bane's body wasn't going to hurt her now, his words would. But he remained silent, waiting for her answer, but when too much time had passed and Jenna still hadn't spoken, he surprised her when he suddenly sat down at the base of the cot. Jenna's eyes snapped open, she could see him in her peripheral vision, but she did not move an inch or turn to look at him.

"You know Jenna, that's who he is. He's a soldier. A killer for the greater good, for a greater cause. A _mercenary _who works for _me. _I thought you understood this."

"I do," Jenna replied quickly and quietly. "I just never really saw... him... like _that _before. In real life." Jenna bowed her head again, feeling embarrassed, nervous, and above all, ashamed. After all that had happened, how was it that both she _and _Bane were sitting so close together, and talking on calm, gentle terms? Did nothing make sense anymore?

"I always told him his compassionate ways would be his downfall," Bane said as he rested his arms on his knees. "It's bewildering sometimes that he's come as far as he has."

Jenna was frowning. "_That's _who he is," Jenna argued gently. "He's a nice guy, a helpful guy. Not a... a-"

"No, Jenna," Bane disagreed as he kept his eyes on her. "You think you may know him well, but clearly you don't. _This _is who he is. _This _is who he was destined to be. _This _is his _job_. The sooner you understand this, the better..." Bane trailed off, a part of him, deep down inside, unhappy with the way he was handling this situation. But he was tired of avoiding Jenna. He was tired of being angry and hurt. He was tired of trying to control Jenna and Barsad's relationship. The exhaustion from all of this was making him give up easily, and accept what was now. Though still, on the surface, he was still slightly tempted to ban Jenna from seeing Barsad...

Jenna shook her head, a part of her realizing Bane was right, though the other half of her didn't want to accept his words. Instead, she decided to focus on how and odd wrong this current moment was, and she took in another deep breath before she slowly turned to glance over at him.

"How did you know what Karly's plans were? That she had somebody following her?"

Bane grinned slightly, realizing Jenna's attempts to change the subject, but he found himself welcoming them, and even wanting to answer her question. "I surveyed her closer after what you told me. I learned of her plans, and what she intended to do the day she was to be paid from me."

"She was never going to get paid, was she?" She asked, watching as those slight wrinkles appeared at the sides of Bane's eyes, the light gray color of them reflecting from the light. It was shocking to Jenna; she hadn't seen the light color of his eyes in a long, long time...

"No," Bane confirmed. "Even before I had been expecting her attempts to bring me down, as pathetic as they were. As you told me, Jenna, she was not very smart."

Terrifyingly enough, a small grin touched Jenna's lips, and she glanced away to look down at the wall again. "Is her father really going to come here now?" She asked, finding herself to be truly curious.

Bane shrugged from next to her before he finally stood from the cot, and Jenna turned her head to glance over at him, not sure at all why she felt her stomach drop slightly when he stood up, preparing to leave...

"He can try," Bane replied. "We'll be ready, as we always are." Jenna watched Bane turn around and start over to her door. Her eyes wandered over his broad back before she forced herself to look away, but just before Bane was about to fully exit, he stopped and glanced over to her.

"Accept the truth about Barsad and the rest of us, Jenna," he said, catching her attention again, and she glanced up to look at him. "The sooner you do, the sooner you'll begin appreciating the gift that is your life."

Jenna watched him finally turn and start toward his room, and his words caused her to sigh as she faced forward again. After Bane breaking her arm and her month of solitude, Jenna had thought she had been more appreciative of her life, even during her mindless state, but she realized that, unfortunately, Bane had a point. After what she had seen today, she learned that _everyone, _even Isaac, were all merciless and ruthless killers. Suddenly, Jenna realized what a true wonder it was that she was alive, and had managed to stay alive all this time.

–

Jenna remained in her room for another hour, just laying silently in her cot as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking to herself. Considering everything that had happened that day, she _almost _desired going back to the way things had been, when she had been ignoring and avoiding Bane and tuning Isaac out, not allowing herself to get close to him, or him to her. At least during that time there was nothing to be confused about, nothing to obsess over, and Jenna had numbly avoided any and all feelings. Now, she was left feeling frightened and bewildered due to Isaac, and shocked, confused and curious feelings due to Bane were overwhelming her. Still, after all this time, her heart had not stopped racing since she placed her hand in Bane's, and she could still feel how his powerful fingers had felt against her skin. It was truly amazing to her that after all this time her previous feelings for him had not gone permanently away, but rather had just been at rest, deep down inside of her, waiting to be summoned.

She didn't _want _these feelings though, but her confused and curious state would not let her forget how it had felt to finally feel some warmth in her heart, and that fluttering sensation in her stomach. It was so foreign to her by this point it had caused her instantly become dizzy, and if Bane hadn't been holding onto her in the garage, even as loosely as he was, Jenna knew she would have fallen over.

She knew there were ways she could have avoided these feelings, but not without a great cost. Had Bane never handled the situation with Jenna and Isaac the way he had, gotten on better terms with Isaac, silently forgiven Jenna and made the effort to be _nice _to her, things would have been much different. Granted she would not be facing these wrong feelings again, it would not be worth the pain that Isaac would be in. Bane would be even more monstrous, and even though Jenna would be free of these sensations and avoiding Bane, again, she had a feeling she'd be tiptoeing around the warehouse more than usual. She wouldn't have Isaac's friendship, she would have either Isaac nor Bane's protection from the rest of the men around the warehouse, and she'd be more miserable than ever. Oddly enough, she realized, things had actually worked out in everybody's favor, despite these feelings that had come back to her. _Fate_, she thought to herself.

With a roll of her eyes and a sigh, she sat up in her cot, wondering if she really did believe that or not. She knew Isaac did. Thinking his name again, Jenna wondered if she'd be able to find him outside. Now that a little over an hour had passed, she figured he had showered and changed, and was more than likely outside working on something car related.

She stood from the bed, and having never taken her boots off, she started to her door, feeling sick when she realized half of her was hoping Bane wouldn't be around, while the other half of her was _slightly _hoping he would be. _No_, Jenna thought firmly to herself. _Fuck him._

Once she reached the top of the stairs she tried opening the door there, but she grumbled to herself when she pulled on the handle and the door would not give. _Must only open from the inside_, she thought sourly to herself, wondering why the door was even locked in the first place. Sighing, she began to the exit door, and when she opened it she was greeted with a cold gust of wind that ruffled Bane's shirt, and she immediately slammed her hands against the bottom of it to hold it down. The sun was still shining up above, but in the distance Jenna could see gray clouds coming their way, threatening snow, no doubt. Upon glancing down, she saw the garage door was still open, and her heart gave a flutter of excitement when she saw Isaac standing inside the garage, pouring something down on to the concrete. But as she went down the stairs and started over to him, memories of what he had done entered her mind, and by the time she had neared him, she found herself having a hard time speaking.

Dressed now in a pair of dark green cargo pants and a tight, black t-shirt, Isaac kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him where he was pouring some sort of bubbling chemical over the blood that was stained there. A cigarette dangled loosely in between his lips, and as Jenna approached him she saw that his hair was wet, and looked as though he had lazily run his fingers through it to fluff it up some. Upon glancing down, she noticed most of the floor that covered the inside of the garage was wet with water and the chemical, and she stopped just outside of the garage before stepping in, also wondering where her final cigarette and lighter had gone to.

"Is... is it okay to walk on this?" Jenna asked, pointing down when Isaac glanced up at her. He nodded a short second later, eying her body again, and Jenna proceeded with stepping into the garage.

"You gonna tell me what's up with the outfit now?" Isaac asked as he finished pouring the last bit of chemical down onto the ground, and he placed the container on the floor before he turned to her, taking the cigarette out of his mouth as he did so. "Is that Bane's shirt?" He asked with more curiosity, his eyes widening slightly as he stared at her shirt again.

Jenna was frowning as she stood there, trying to control her shivers as she held down the shirt, hoping that any and all awkward feelings about what they had done would stay at bay, even if she was able to get over the anxiety she felt after seeing Isaac kill that man. "Yes..." she grumbled.

"Why?" Isaac asked slowly, and when Jenna glanced up at him, she couldn't help but to feel as if Isaac knew something that she did not.

"Because Bane did my laundry," she answered, glancing down when she realized how utterly ridiculous that sounded. She expected Isaac to laugh at her and not believe what she had just said, but when he remained quiet, she glanced up to him in just enough time to watch him nod before he took a hit of his cigarette.

"Makes sense," he replied, smoke escaping past his lips as he spoke before he finally blew it all out.

"Does it though?" Jenna asked desperately, taking a step toward him as she finally let go of the shirt. "I mean he did my _laundry, _Isaac. _Bane, _doing _laundry_."

"Yeah, so?" Isaac pressed on, and he grinned down at her when Jenna's jaw dropped slightly. "It's not as crazy as you think it is. Bane _can _be a nice guy, you know."

Jenna swallowed. _Just like how you can be a terrifying killer_, Jenna thought as she glanced down, but as soon as she had this thought, she closed her eyes and tried to push it out of her mind. "Not like this though."

"Why? Because it's laundry? Something suited for a woman to do?"

"No," Jenna replied sternly as she glanced back up to him. "Because... it's just weird. He's been being... nice to me, Isaac. And patient, and just..."

Isaac shrugged again, struggling to hold back the truth he wanted to tell Jenna, but he would not betray Bane that way. Bane had partially confessed his feelings about Jenna in confidence to him, even after what Isaac had done with her, and he'd be damned if he would ever tell a soul. It was evident to him now, however, that Bane was trying to get on her good side. He was probably just tired of avoiding her, Isaac thought. "So what's your point?" He asked, taking another drag.

"Well, _why_?" Jenna asked. "And if you shrug again Isaac, so help me God..."

Isaac let out a breathless laugh, and instead spoke the equivalent of a shrug. "I don't know."

Rolling her eyes, Jenna turned away from him, but when she caught a glimpse of the fading blood on the concrete, she swallowed.

"Does that stuff clean up blood?" She asked.

"Yup," Isaac replied. "Rather quickly, too."

"What about your clothes...?" Jenna wondered, wishing she could just enjoy his company like she use to, especially after all had been forgiven and forgotten, but suddenly all she could picture was Isaac lashing out at _her_, and hurting her with his bare hands. The thought was overwhelming, and Jenna had to close her eyes and swallow back the painful lump in her throat.

"I've got more inside. What's your problem?" Isaac asked now as he stared at her with furrowed eyebrows.

"Nothing," Jenna replied, finally opening her eyes, and she forced a small smile as she shook her head at him. Isaac didn't buy her lie.

"Okay, Miss 'I'm gonna start telling the truth now', _that's _bullshit. What's wrong?"

When Jenna glanced back over to him, she could easily make out the curiosity in his tone, the sincerity in his eyes, and she could feel his desire to help radiating off of him. _Amazing_, she thought. Isaac's current behavior was making it hard to believe what she had previously seen him do. But now, she realized, she had forced herself into telling him what was truly wrong.

"Can I have a cigarette?" Jenna asked quietly, and she stayed silent as Isaac reached into his pocket to pull out his pack. After he plucked out a single cigarette and handed it and his lighter to her, he remained patient as she lit up, waiting to hear what was on her mind.

"Well?" He finally had to ask after Jenna slowly exhaled. "It must be pretty bad if you're avoiding it."

Jenna shrugged. "It's just..." she paused, already feeling her face reddening as embarrassment overtook her. She knew Isaac would find her confession absurd, just like Bane had. "Seeing you... kill that guy... it was just... kinda scary."

Isaac laughed, just as Jenna knew he would, and she couldn't help but to glance up at him with narrowed eyes.

"That's it?" Isaac asked, sounding as though he was in disbelief. "Jenna I thought you understood what my job entailed."

"I do, I do, I guess just _seeing _it was different. It was just like my dream, Isaac." Jenna shook her head, feeling more pathetic than she had been.

"No, c'mon," Isaac went on now, his humorous tone fading away. "Why does it bother you?"

Jenna couldn't help but to shrug now each time she answered him. "I'm not use to you _being _that way," she confessed. "You're usually so–"

"Clean and friendly?" Isaac asked with a grin, referring to how Jenna had described him that morning in his room, after her shower. Despite how she was feeling, Jenna couldn't help but to laugh slightly at this.

"Yes," she replied honestly. "That's about exactly right."

"It is right sometimes" Isaac replied. "But to act that way when I'm working would absurd."

"You make it sound like it's a facade," Jenna accused as she finally took a second hit from her cigarette.

Isaac shrugged, neither agreeing or disagreeing with her answer, and Jenna hated that.

"I don't want to believe that," she spoke up suddenly. "_That_... what you did earlier to that guy and in my dream... that was a facade. This is real, right? Right?" She asked again when he didn't answer right away.

"It may have been years ago, but now-"

"So you're saying you're _really_ like that. Terrifying? Merciless? Uncaring?"

"What does it matter, Jenna?" Isaac finally spoke up, louder this time as he stared directly into her eyes. "I don't understand why this is an issue. You're basically saying that since I don't appear to be the shining vision you have of me in your head, that you can't accept me anymore. I'm nice to _you_, I'm helpful to you, I'm helpful to the people I like. It's not that far off from how you were."

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed at his words, though at the same time realization of what he was saying to was starting to flood her. He was right, it seemed...

"Childish? A brat?" Isaac went on. "But when you'd talk to me, most of the time those qualities would go away. I knew who you really were and it didn't stop me. And yes, before you say it, you changed, and what you saw is a part of me that will never change. I can't tell you to get over it, that's up to you, but I'm just telling you it doesn't matter. It's nothing to be scared about it."

Jenna frowned as she glanced down, and she stared at her cigarette in between her fingers as she flicked it with her thumb, sending the ashes to fall slowly to the ground. Finally, she nodded. "I know, you're right. It was just... it's whatever. I'm sorry."

When she glanced back up at him, she saw he was grinning. "It's fine," he assured. "But just pick your battles, you know? If you keep moping around about it it'll get Bane's attention. He'll stop being nice to you," he added with a small laugh.

Jenna rolled her eyes at his name. "It already did."

"What happened?"

"We just talked," Jenna replied simply.

"How'd that go?"

"Good," she answered before she could stop herself. _No, not good. Weird. Out of the ordinary... Wrong... _"Everything else aside," Jenna started now as she shook her head slightly, finally able to put those image of Isaac aside for the moment. "Why is he acting this way, seriously. It's freaking me out."

Isaac grinned. "Maybe he's just over the avoidance and how things have been."

"Isaac, please," Jenna said in a more sincere tone. "The last time he was anything like this was the day he broke my arm, forever ago. I know you know why, and I want you to tell me."

"Jenna it's no different than what you saw me do today. You know Bane as what... a– a terrifying beast who seeks destruction," Isaac began as he lifted his arms up slightly, "but there's another side of him who _can _be friendly, and _helpful_. You've seen it before..." he added as he glanced away to take another hit from his cigarette, and as he exhaled he turned back to her. "You know me as a clean and friendly guy, but today you had to see me as gross and scary." Isaac grinned, referring back to Jenna's word choice that morning, and she couldn't help but to roll her eyes as she lifted her foot to gently kick him on the side of the leg.

"I swear to God, Isaac, I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you!"

"There's nothing to talk about," he replied. "It's been a hard day, I'm tired, and I just want to relax. Accept Bane's behavior toward you, otherwise it'll go away. Forever, maybe," he added.

Jenna was staring at him, and when Isaac took a final hit from his cigarette before tossing it out of the garage, she still had the feeling that he was keeping something from her. But perhaps he was right. Granted she hated these feelings that were coming back to her about Bane, if she didn't just accept his ways with her now, they _could _go away forever, and things could get much, much worse. It was evident that Bane still held some kind of interest in her, regardless of what kind it was, but whether Jenna did or not, accepted to deal with these feelings or not, it didn't mean she had to act out on them...

"Okay, you're right. Thank you," she replied.

"Anytime," Isaac replied as he placed his hands in his pockets. He glanced over at Jenna again, unable to help but look over her shirt again, and he let out another short laugh as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What?" Jenna asked as she looked at him.

"I still can't believe you're wearing his shirt."

"Well what else was I supposed to do?" She asked with a frown. "All my clothes were dirty."

"Even your _pants_? It's winter, for Christ sake."

"Yes, even the pants. Actually..." Jenna paused, and Isaac watched her turn to glance over to the darker area of the garage, where the washer and dryer were. Without a word, she started over toward the area, Isaac following closely behind her, and once she reached the machines, the dryer still running, Jenna furrowed her eyebrows just as Isaac snapped on a brighter light.

"Why is the dryer still running?" Jenna wondered quietly as she took another drag from her cigarette. Isaac stepped past her to lean against a row of shelving, and he glanced down to a laundry basket in front of him, where he found a large pile of cargo pants and shirts sitting on top of a smaller, _wet_ pile that contained smaller, more colorful clothes. Next to it, he saw another pile of those same type of clothes, laying on the dirty floor...

A grin stretched on his lips as he waited for Jenna to notice this as well, and when she finally opened the dryer, and saw that her clothes were not inside of it, and that instead her recently clean clothes had been carelessly placed on the _floor_, her jaw dropped in pure anger and annoyance.

"Unbelievable!" She spat as she slammed the door to the dryer shut, and finally Isaac let out the laugh he had been suppressing as he watched Jenna step over to her clothes as he tossed her cigarette away from herself. "They just _threw _them on the ground! _Ugh_!"

"Just because Bane _started _your laundry doesn't mean he was going to _finish_ it," Isaac pointed out, and his grin deepened when Jenna glanced in his direction to glare at him.

"This isn't funny," she complained. "These were clean!"

"Oh, they're fine, cry baby," Isaac said as he crossed his arms. "I thought you had improved from this mentality."

Shaking her head, Jenna couldn't help but to feel frustrated, even if the issue was something stupid to be angry over. But she had gone for so long without clean clothes, and she wasn't about to wait any longer for them. She opened the washer door next to her, where she found a load of the other thugs laundry, seeping wet inside, and that frown never leaving her face, she turned back to the dryer, opened it, and began to place the clothes inside on the floor. She paused for a moment, however, suddenly fretting that these were _Bane's_ clothes. She pulled out a pair of pants, leaned up and laid them out on the dryer, trying to access their size, but she was interrupted by Isaac's voice.

"Those aren't Bane's, in case that's what you were wondering. Continue on with your revenge."

Jenna wanted to be annoyed, but when a smile overcame her features and a small laugh escaped past her, she realized she couldn't be mad at Isaac over this. It seemed as though suddenly any horrified thoughts she had been having about him had vanished, and she couldn't remember the last time she had seen Isaac acting so happy and humorous. It's not that he was ever in a bad mood anymore when they conversed, but he was never so legitimately happy and amused.

But Jenna did continue on with her _revenge_, and once the thugs clothes were piled on the floor, just like hers had been, she began to place their wet clothes in the dryer, and this, of course, was amusing to Isaac.

"So, your act of revenge entails helping them out, still?" He questioned.

"It's whatever," Jenna grumbled. "Choose your battles, remember?"

Isaac nodded with a smile. "Smart girl."

Once the clothes were in the dryer, and after Jenna had put in the wet clothes that had been sitting under the thugs dirty clothes in the basket (which she had thrown on the floor, as well) Jenna started the washer and placed her clean clothes into the basket, happy to see that there actually was one available.

"I'm surprised you even know how to do laundry. Isn't that what your maid had been for?"

"Not always," Jenna replied. "I'm not completely useless, Isaac," she added as she turned to glare at him, holding the basket in between her left arm and hip.

"Well perhaps this is how we can use you to our benefit. You can do our laundry."

Jenna rolled her eyes as she started back toward the main area of the garage, and once she started away, Isaac leaned away from the shelves and followed her. At first, as Jenna headed back outside and toward the exit door, she wondered why Isaac was following her, but once she started up the stairs and stopped at the door, Isaac moved past her to open it for her. Jenna let out a small sigh as she glanced over to him to flash him a genuine smile before she started inside. Now, she felt even more stupid for feeling so fearful and freaked out about him before. She should have known better. Isaac may be a ruthless killer, but he was nice to her, and that should be all that mattered.

Isaac stepped inside after her, and once the door closed behind him, Jenna turned around to face him. "Thank you," she replied. "For everything."

Isaac smiled again as he nodded at her. "Maybe tomorrow we could get breakfast at the diner. You look thin," he commented, and Jenna rolled her eyes with a grin.

"That sounds good," she said, ignoring his comment, though she wasn't entirely sure when the last time she had eaten a descent meal had been. Without another word, Isaac turned around and began down the hall, and Jenna watched him until he disappeared around the corner. She couldn't help but to smile to herself as she turned around, feeling genuinely happy and relieved for a change. Despite her wrong feelings toward Bane, he wasn't terrorizing her anymore, it was finally evident to her that any and all awkward feelings between her and Isaac had completely vanished. She was still smiling as she neared the stairs, and once she started going down them, she couldn't help but to feel so at ease suddenly.

_ Fate, _she thought to herself.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait, guys! But alas, here is the new chapter. This particular chapter was an absolute blast to write, and if you're feeling all giddy by this point about Jenna and Bane and Jenna's situation now as a whole, PLEASE REVIEW! Even if you're not, PLEASE REVIEW!**

**ALSO! You guys HAVE to check out this awesome Bane, Barsad, and eventually John Blake / OC fiction my good friend is writing. Her penname is xLevitate, and her story is called Creating Havoc. It's a great, creative story, a great read, and definitely deserves some more attention. Do her a favor and show her some love! :)**

**AAAAND I've created a Batman forum for all of us awesome fans and fan fiction readers/writers to all converse on. If you're interested, please check it out and register! GothamCityCrazies . forumotion . com (minus the spaces, of course)**

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter should definitely be out much sooner, as I have already started on it :)**


	26. Changes

Jenna let out a comfortable sigh as she sat down at her and Isaac's usual booth at the diner, but she couldn't help the flinch that overcame her features when her back, neck and hips gave out a violent spurt of pain. As Isaac slid in across from her, he noticed the pained expression she flashed before she rested her back against the seat, and once he had situated himself, he asked her what happened.

"Oh, that cot's just been fucking up my back and stuff," Jenna replied as she reached forward to grab a menu that was already sitting in its container on the table, Isaac following her actions. She opened the menu to the first page that listed the breakfast items, but after her eyes roamed over the pictures of omelets, sausage, and hash-browns, she immediately closed the menu, already knowing she was going to order pancakes.

"How long has that been happening?" Isaac asked as he flipped through the pages of the menu.

"A while," Jenna replied. "And I think it's getting worse."

It definitely had to have been. When she woke up that morning, she was instantly reminded of her and Isaac's plans to go out to eat, and suddenly eager to get out of bed and go find him to make sure she wasn't too late for breakfast, she tossed her blanket off of herself and went to sit up, but she stopped herself immediately when splitting pain traveled from her hips, up her back and onto her neck. Clenching her teeth, she slowly sat up, finding that if she moved slowly it kept the pain at bay. Once she was standing, the stinging pain faded, but her body was still left feeling rather beat up and sore. Sighing, Jenna stepped over to the basket in her room that contained her clean clothes, remembering suddenly she was still wearing Bane's shirt, and after she dressed herself in a pair of cargo pants, a black tank top and her boots, the laces still tucked into them, she leaned over the mirror shard that sat on her chair to make sure her and face didn't look too battered. Once she was satisfied, she turned to leave her room.

Isaac had been waiting for her in the garage, and had been keeping himself busy by doing something to the Challenger. When Jenna passed him, he glanced up at her and gave her a nod.

"I was about to come get you. It's already nine."

_It's still early,_ Jenna couldn't help but to think to herself. "I just want to check on the clothes, then I'll be ready," she told him.

After approaching the laundry machines, and finding that everything was still how she had left it the day prior, she put the thug's clothes that were in the dryer on the floor again, placed her wet clothes in the dryer, and added her final load into the washer. As she headed toward Isaac's truck, she hoped that the henchmen would leave her clean clothes alone this time.

Isaac was already in his truck, and he had just turned the key in the ignition when Jenna opened the door. Just as she started to climb in and got past her flinches of pain, Isaac glanced over at her.

"Did you ask Bane?"

Jenna slumped her shoulders once she had sat down, and she glanced over to him with a frown.

"No," she complained.

"Could you go do it, please?" Isaac asked. "I'm not tryin' to get in more trouble here."

"It'll be fine," Jenna assured as she glanced away from him, ready to pull the door closed, but she could still feel Isaac glaring at the side of her face. When she turned to look at him again, she had been right.

"Jenna, please?" Isaac asked again, blinking slowly, and with a huff Jenna got out of the truck, closed the door and started back to the warehouse, knowing that Isaac was grinning at her actions all the while.

Anxiety had begun to take over Jenna when she ventured into the dark basement. She saw light flooding out from under Bane's door, and without missing a beat, she knocked on it as soon as she approached it. Shock overcame her upon doing so the second she lowered her fist, and she took a moment to realize just how odd that had been. Normally, she always grew so nervous before knocking on his door. What had changed, and why had it?

Bane opened his door a few moments later, and he had been surprised to see her standing in front of him. He couldn't help but to allow his eyes to roam over her body, taking in the site of her version of their uniform, and he blinked contentedly to himself when he finally looked into her eyes. "Jenna," he greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Can I go to the diner? With... Isaac?" Jenna asked slowly, hating how she always found herself bringing up Isaac in front of Bane more and more lately. Bane had been silent for a minute, but he didn't have to contemplate her query too long. He already knew he was going to grant her this permission.

"Yes," he replied. "But be back within the hour." He watched Jenna's eyebrows furrow at this, and just as her lips parted, he interrupted the question he knew she was going to ask. "That is an order."

Closing her mouth, Jenna nodded at him, figuring she might as well just be happy that Bane was actually allowing her to do this, and as soon as she turned around, Bane closed his door.

After she had made it back to the truck, she opened the door and stared in at Isaac.

"He said no," she told him, trying to look somewhat mad, and she tried to hold back her smile when Isaac's eyebrows raised in slight disbelief.

"Really?"

"No," Jenna replied with a grin, and Isaac shook his head with a smirk as Jenna climbed back into the truck and closed her door. "He said I have to be back within the hour though."

Isaac glanced down at the clock on his radio as he put the truck in gear, and he peered back out of the windshield as he accelerated forward. "_Caaan_ do."

Now, Jenna leaned back in her seat, and she kept her left hand stretched in front of her and resting on the table while Isaac continued to look over the menu. This morning, though painful, had also been surprisingly smooth and easy, even with having to converse with Bane. It seemed as though over night she had completely either forgotten or accepted what she had seen yesterday, and after talking to Isaac about it, she began to wonder if it was really better to just accept Bane's behavior toward her. Although, while it was easy to accept, returning the better attitude was a challenge, and having to deal with those old feelings again was less than desirable. Just thinking back to her hand in his, even a whole day later, _still _caused that fluttering sensation to take over her stomach.

Clearing her throat, Jenna glanced toward the window, and she peered out of the parted blinds at the barren street and surrounding fields, wishing she knew how to handle what was going on lately. From across the table, Isaac glanced up at her with only his eyes before he lowered them back down to the menu.

"What are you getting?" He asked.

"Pancakes," Jenna answered, and she grinned when she heard Isaac chuckle.

"I should have guessed," he replied.

Their table fell silent for a while, even after the waitress had gone over to their table for their orders. Jenna had kept her head turned away from her in the efforts of avoiding direct eye contact while Isaac ordered for the both of them. After she had left, Isaac put his menu away, and he leaned back in his seat as he stretched out his own arms, resting them on the table as well.

"I'm tired," he commented, catching Jenna's attention.

"Why?" She asked.

"Just... everything that's been going on," Isaac replied as he entwined his fingers together on the table. "Just all of the plans and the runnin' around and dealing with the guys at home and... Christmas shoppers. I just want a day to relax, you know?"

Jenna grinned. "Christmas shoppers?" She repeated. The rest of Isaac's slight complaining made sense, but she didn't understand why Christmas shoppers had come up. "...why?"

"They're everywhere," he said, hoping that mentioning anything about Christmas would not bring up awkward memories or feelings about what they had done on Christmas Eve night. To be honest, he was just surprised both Jenna and himself had been able to get over and past it. "All the bargain hunters, you know? The people who drive like crazies, crowd the streets and trample over each other in the store as they try to obtain all the decorations that went down in price since it's over."

"Thank God it's over," Jenna mumbled, more so to herself, but Isaac had heard her. He closed his mouth and nodded slightly to himself as he glanced down to his hands. To Jenna, Christmas had never been a happy time for her, and this year around, it had been worse than ever. She had spent this Christmas fearing for her life and Isaac's, and praying that Bane wouldn't harm him. Fortunately, everything appeared to have turned out for the best. Now all she had to do was get past her birthday...

Jenna paused immediately due to this thought, her skin turning cold, and she glanced up at Isaac. "What's today?"

"The twenty seventh," he replied, looking back up to her, and once he saw the rather shocked expression on her face, he narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Jenna licked her lips. "It's my birthday," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the table, and she couldn't help but to have a hard time accepting this.

"Oh," Isaac replied, widening his eyes slightly as he nodded. "Well, happy birthdaythen."

Jenna smiled slightly as she looked back up to him. "Thanks," she said shyly. "But that's all I want to hear about it."

"Why?"

Jenna shrugged. "Because it's not important."

"Around here," Isaac began as he pulled back his arms to lean up before leaning over the table, noticing the waitress was making her way over with their drinks. "You're right."

Jenna smiled and nodded at him before she turned her head away again just when the waitress began to set down their drink glasses, and she couldn't help but to feel proud of herself for already knowing this. Still, she found that she most certainly did not feel twenty-three. For the first time in her life, she would not be getting presents or a birthday celebration, and shockingly, she was okay with this, and was even welcoming towards it.

–

Just as she had been hoping, her breakfast meal of four, largely stacked pancakes was both delicious and filling, and once Isaac had finished his own meal, they ventured out to his truck, the clock on the dash reading 9:46. Jenna had not been nervous about returning on time, but she couldn't help the relief that took over her when she figured they'd be arriving back at the warehouse no later than 9:55.

After Isaac had started his truck, he reached down to grab out a cigarette, and once he had lit it, Jenna spoke up.

"Can I ha-"

"Yeah," Isaac interrupted as he held his cigarette out of his open window with his left hand, and after putting the truck in gear he started out of the parking lot. "Help yourself."

Leaning over, Jenna managed to get out a cigarette with her left hand, and after struggling to light it for a moment, she tossed the lighter down and took the cigarette from her mouth as she exhaled. From the corner of his eye, Isaac watched Jenna glance around the cab of the truck and the cigarette in her hand before she finally rested her arm on the arm rest, and when she glanced over to Isaac and saw that he had been looking at her as well, she cleared her throat as he grinned.

"When do you think we could see about that new cast?" She asked him, feeling bad for having to keep the cigarette inside of the truck. Isaac leaned up in his seat slightly as he took another drag from his own.

"Today, if you want," he replied. "I'll have to see if I have the right supplies."

"What do you need?" Jenna asked, looking at him still.

"The cast itself and some more gauze," he replied. Jenna nodded to herself.

"It's already made?" She watched Isaac nod.

"Yeah, I should have some with my medical equipment. The guys at the warehouse are always breaking or spraining something. Though, it's never as severe as yours was."

He glanced over to her with a grin, but when he saw Jenna roll her eyes in disgust as she looked away he frowned.

"You can't hold a grudge forever."

"Yes I can," Jenna said as she stared out of the window, and she lifted her cigarette to her lips to take another drag before she reached over to ash the cigarette out of the window. But once she flicked the cigarette, the ashes came flying back into the truck, and they landed on her lap. With a sigh, Jenna began to brush them off. "Breaking somebody's arm, on _purpose _is _kinda _a big deal."

"Not when you're at fault," Isaac pointed out, the warehouse already showing up in the far distance. He looked over to Jenna, but when she remained silently staring out of the window, he glanced back out of the windshield. "You lied to him, Jenna. It had been an on-going lie."

"Isaac, please, I really don't want to talk about this–"

"No, maybe we should," he interrupted. "Think about it, Jenna. Perhaps he acted irrationally, or perhaps he didn't, but regardless, _you _should have known to have just listened to him. It was a punishment."

"Punishment?" Jenna repeated as she turned to look at him with widened eyes, completely unsure of where this argument was stemming from, or why. "Like breaking my arm wasn't a punishment enough, he had to lock me away, too?"

"He felt that the circumstances called for that kind of outcome," Isaac replied quickly.

Jenna let out a small huff of laughter as she glanced away with another roll of her eyes. "Then why didn't he just kill me?"

"Because he-" Isaac stopped himself short, his jaw still hanging open slightly, and when he saw Jenna turn back to face him, a curious, expectant look on her face, he immediately closed his mouth.

"Because he what, Isaac?" Jenna asked, her tone no longer angry, but rather calm and slightly frightened. Isaac situated himself in his seat before he brought over his cigarette, but when he saw it had burn out, he tossed it out of the window before switching his hands on the wheel, his actions causing Jenna's eyebrows to furrow. What was he holding back from her?

"Because he didn't want to," Isaac replied quickly, and Jenna noticed how he was fighting the urge to look at her. Jenna didn't buy this. Isaac was holding something back from her, but she knew it was useless to probe him for information. Chances are, whatever it was, it was a secret sealed locked away tightly within the bonds of his and Bane's brotherhood.

Jenna glanced away, desiring now more than ever to know what Isaac was hiding from her, but also, she was scared to find out. Whatever it was, it had to do with Bane and his relation to _her_. _Better off not knowing... _Jenna decided.

"Look," Isaac started just as he pulled into the warehouse's lot. "You've come a long way, Jenna, and the improvement in you is noticeable and outstanding; it's something he's –we– have always wanted for you." Isaac paused as he drove toward the garages, and after he had parked and shut off the truck, he glanced back over to her. "Don't ruin it by holding a grudge against him for something that was your fault. Just accept that and move on because things are looking better now, for everyone involved."

Jenna had been staring at him all the while, the urge to know the secret and the desire to stay as far away from it as possible tearing her in half. But regardless, she nodded. She was still angry at Bane for what he had done, she _wanted _to forever be angry at Bane for what he had done, but as per usual, Isaac seemed right. Jenna had lied to him, and disobeyed his orders, even after he had already given her a million chances prior. _Bane doesn't offer second chances... _

After Isaac had gotten out of the truck, Jenna climbed out herself, her cigarette still in between her fingers, and as she followed Isaac into the garage, she took another drag as she glanced away, the feeling of slight worry stinging her neck as she wondered what time it was. Upset she had to put her cigarette out early, she bent down and extinguished it on the ground before she glanced over at Isaac.

"I'm gonna go find Bane," she told him. "Then can we see about my arm?"

She watched Isaac nod before she finally started toward the door within the garage, hoping it would be unlocked. Much to her satisfaction, it was, and as soon as she stepped inside she immediately headed into the basement.

The lights above were on, illuminating the wide space and the slumbering mayor against the wall, and when Jenna looked over to Bane's door, she saw that it was open. Swallowing, she began over to it, but when she peered inside quickly, after knocking on the door's frame, she saw he was not inside. Her eyebrows furrowing, she turned and ventured over to her room, and after opening her door, just to see if he was inside it for whatever reason, she learned quickly that he was not, and she turned to start back up the stairs.

She glanced down the hallway and stared at the open bathroom door, and once she had approached the exit door, she stood still, trying to listen and see if he, or anybody for that matter, were upstairs. But the warehouse was silent, and with a nervous sigh she pulled open the exit door and started toward the garage again, trying to ignore the biting cold temperatures as clouds began to gather in the sky.

The entire outside seemed to be completely abandoned, and once she approached the garage, she immediately stepped over to Isaac. "I can't find him," she said.

Isaac glanced over to her, his lips parting to speak, but he paused when the very faint sound of screaming was heard. He stared off into the distance past the vast, snow-covered field beyond the lot and toward the creek, and when he saw Jenna shift her weight from her right to her left, he held up his finger to her, listening. When he heard the shout again, he glanced over to his left, his eyes finding what he had been hoping to find. Jenna watched him turn from her, but as soon as he picked up a black sniper rifle that had been leaning against the wall, her eyes widened as she backed up.

"What are you doing?" She asked, some sense of panic in her voice, and she watched Isaac step toward the end of the garage before he lifted up the gun to squint his left eye and peer down the scope on the top of the sniper rifle with his right. He moved the gun back and forth slightly, searching, until he picked up the enlarged images of Bane, some of his henchmen, and Karly's crew they had captured, still bound and tied, and resting on their knees in front of the dirty creek, soaking wet, shivering, and gasping for air.

"Bane's down by the creek," he told her, keeping the gun raised, and Jenna furrowed her eyebrows as she took a small step closer to him. She eyed the gun again before she turned to look off into the distance the gun was pointing, and even though her heart was racing, she tried to stay calm, reminding herself that Isaac was only using the scope on the gun as a form of binoculars.

"Doing what?" She asked, unable to see anything unless she squinted her eyes and strained them in the direction. But even with doing so, all she could make out were tiny, black specs in the distance.

"Interrogation," Isaac replied, watching for another minute as a thug on their team pushed one of Karly's crew member's head down into the water while Bane leaned over them, probably speaking to him.

"For what?" Jenna asked. "Why?" She added when Isaac finally held the gun down and turned to lean it back against the wall.

"Information," he replied. "From Karly's crew."

"Oh," Jenna nodded. "You could see all the way down there with that?" She asked now as she nodded toward the gun.

"Yeah," Isaac replied, a new enthusiasm in his voice. "Wanna see?"

Jenna's jaw dropped slightly, but just as she began to shake her head, Isaac was already picking the rifle back up.

"Yeah you do, c'mere."

Closing her mouth and letting out a nervous sigh due through her nose due to having to handle a gun for the first time, she allowed Isaac to turn her around so she was facing the field again, knowing very well there was no getting out of this now. He moved to stand behind her, and keeping his right hand clutched on the underside of the front of the gun, he placed it front of Jenna, resting the back against her shoulder. Her eyes widened slightly upon feeling him behind her, her breath hitching slightly in her throat, but she would not allow herself to feel awkward about this. "Put your hand here," he instructed, pointing toward the area the trigger was located in.

"Isaac," she moaned. "I don't care to see this."

Isaac ignored her, and when Jenna knew she would not get a reply back she rolled her eyes as she carelessly lifted her left hand to place it where Isaac had said.

"You got it?" He asked her, leaning over to look at the side of her face. When Jenna finally tightened her grip and nodded, he fixed his stance behind her and held up the gun more. "Squint your eye and look into the scope with the other," he instructed. Defeated, Jenna did as she was told, and after closing her left eye, she leaned her head forward and glanced into the scope.

"Do you see them?" Isaac asked her, keeping the gun held up easily while he let his left arm stay at his side, purposely keeping his hand away from Jenna's body.

"No," she answered in an annoyed tone. Without a word, Isaac glanced down with a small smirk to look at the top of her head below him, and he gently started to move the gun toward the right while Jenna fixed her own grip on the gun. "Oh, I see them. Wow..." she couldn't help but to mumble, impressed with how clear and magnified they had become. Staring down the scope, she watched a thug keep his hands on one of Karly's squirming men in the water, and Jenna swallowed when he stood up, leaving the lifeless body of the man to stay in the creek. She then looked at Bane, standing tall with his arms crossed over his chest, and she couldn't help but to swallow. Isaac grinned as he glanced down at her again, but once he caught sight of her pointer finger on the trigger, he moved to take the gun back.

"Whoa," he said as the gun was taken abruptly from her.

"What?" Jenna wondered as she spun around to watch him move toward the wall again.

"You had your finger on the trigger," he replied as he set the gun down. "That's a rule everyone knows, Jenna. Don't put your finger on the trigger 'till you're ready to shoot."

"But you do it," she accused, thinking back to yesterday. "Besides it wasn't even... loaded, or ready or whatever."

"You don't know that," Isaac replied with a smirk. "Regardless, it's a bad habit to get into. And I'm allowed to do it because I'm experienced and in more control than you are."

"Whatever," Jenna replied as she turned away, still feeling dizzy due to Isaac standing so close behind her, actually holding a gun and using it somewhat, and seeing Bane torture those men. "I didn't want to see anyway."

Isaac didn't reply to this as he started toward the warehouse door inside the garage, but when he didn't hear footsteps behind him, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. "You coming?" He asked her, Jenna immediately turning to face him, and when he saw the confused look on her face, he rolled his eyes. "To do your arm?"

"Oh, yeah," Jenna said quickly as she started over to him. With a grin and a roll of his eyes, Isaac turned around and pushed open the door, Jenna right behind him this time.

As soon as they had climbed the ladder and stepped into Isaac's room, he snapped on the light and started over to his bathroom while Jenna started over toward his unmade bed. "Will Bane be mad that I didn't check in with him?" She asked.

"I don't see why he would be," Isaac replied as he came out of the bathroom now, a roll of gauze in his hand. He tossed it onto the bed before he started over to his dresser. "He's busy right now and wouldn't want you disturbing him, anyway."

Jenna nodded as she glanced around his room as she finally and slowly sat down, eying all of the various guns and weapons laid out in organized fashions, and she couldn't help but to swallow due to sitting on his bed. It wasn't that she felt awkward, but rather weird about being on his bed again after what had happened. She almost felt... bad. Like she was disobeying Bane again. But on the other hand, sitting on something that was actually soft and comfortable was welcoming, and these feelings overpowered any desire to move away from it.

Once Isaac had rummaged through a few medical boxes, he found what he was looking for, and he headed over to Jenna with that ready made, plastic cast in his hand with another medical box in his other hand.

"This should fit," he said as he sat down, setting the cast and box down onto his lap. "But before we do this..." he trailed off as he took a hold of Jenna's cast on her arm. She turned toward him slightly, and she allowed him to move her arm all around again, watching her arm's movements as he did so. "Does this hurt?" He asked. Jenna shook her head.

"Is that good?" She asked him.

"Very," Isaac replied, letting go of her arm now, and he opened the box on his lap after moving the air cast onto the bed beside him. Peering into the box, Jenna immediately grew nervous as she watched Isaac take out a large tool with some type of circular blade on the top, and she watched Isaac move the box before standing up to plug the tool into the wall.

"What's that?" She asked.

"The saw I gotta use to take that cast off," Isaac replied, picking up on her anxious tone. "This is the tool doctors use, Jenna. The blade is dull, so stop being so paranoid."

Jenna frowned, but she ignored his comment. "Where do you get all this stuff from anyway?"

As Isaac approached her again, he answer came in the mere form of a grin, and judging by that grin, Jenna could only imagine how he obtained these instruments. _Poor doctors_, she thought to herself.

"Alright, hold your arm out," Isaac said as he knelt down in front of her. Jenna did as she was told, and after Isaac lowered her arm to rest on her lap, he started up the tool, the obnoxious buzzing sound causing a shudder to run through her, but regardless, she made herself hold perfectly still as Isaac began to saw through the dirtied, white plaster.

The procedure took no longer than ten minutes, and Jenna's eyes widened in unison with her jaw dropping when she felt the heavy cast finally break away completely from her arm. A rush of cool air brushed over the gauze that was still wrapped around her arm, and as Isaac collected the pieces of the cast, Jenna couldn't help to lift her arm closer to face, being careful not to twist it, as her eyes glanced all over the limb. It felt so light, after being suffocated in that cast for months, and she couldn't help the smile that touched her lips. Suddenly, she felt as though she would never take the full range of motion her limbs could do for granted ever again...

After Isaac had disposed of the cast, he sat down next to her again and gently tugged her arm over to him. "You're a fast healer," he commented. "Normally those casts gotta stay on for many more months."

"That's good," Jenna said, unable to hide the new found excitement in her voice, and she watched as Isaac began to unwrap her arm from the gauze. But as soon as her arm became exposed, Jenna's eyebrows furrowed tightly as a look of disgust overcame her features. "_Ew... _what the-?"

Her eyes wandered all over the deeply reddened skin on her arm while also taking in the pattern her skin had picked up from the gauze after having been pressed against it for so long. To her, her arm appeared to be in a rotting type of stage. "That is disgusting."

Isaac let out a laugh as he dropped the old gauze to the floor, and now that the cast was off, he began to inspect her arm again, pushing down from her upper arm to help it regain blood flow. Jenna tried to watch as he did this among performing other check ups, but she had to look away. Her arm looked disgusting.

"It'll go away," he assured when he saw Jenna look away finally, and Jenna jumped when she felt something cold touch her arm. She turned and watched Isaac cleanse it with a wet wipe, and once this was done, he set the wipe onto the gauze on the floor and turned to pick up his new roll before he began to wrap her arm again.

"So, with this new cast, can I actually do stuff with my arm and hand again?" She asked.

Isaac nodded as he continued to wrap her arm tightly. "To an extent. You still gotta go easy with it though."

Jenna nodded before she turned away, finding more patience now as Isaac finished wrapping her arm. Once this was done, and he had cut the gauze and secured it down, he picked up the ready-made air cast, and Jenna watched with wonder as he helped her to slide the cast onto her arm. This cast, though tight against her arm, felt light, and already she could feel the flexibility she could put into use again. The cast ended just below her elbow, like the last one had, and she had to place her thumb through a separate hole on the end, separating her thumb and the rest of her fingers, and once she noticed this, she immediately thought about Bane's brown armband.

"Done," Isaac replied simply as he stood up, pleased to see the cast fit. "Just go easy with it and it'll finish healing in no time."

Jenna smiled as she watched him go about collecting the supplies, old gauze and wipe, and as Isaac headed to the bathroom to throw them away, Jenna stood up, holding her arm in front of herself, and she couldn't help but to smile widely again.

"Thank you," she said to Isaac as sincerely as she could once he had stepped out of the bathroom, and she made a point to look him in the eye. "This cast already feels..." She shook her head, trying to find words that could best describe how she felt. "...A thousand percent better," she finally finished.

Isaac smiled back at her as he picked up the medical box to put it away. "Hopefully it's the last one you'll ever have to wear. That all depends on _you _though."

Jenna nodded to herself as she glanced down. She felt so thankful toward Isaac and excited about her arm finally getting on a better track, but the warning voice in her head reminded her it would probably be a good idea to go find Bane now.

"I'm gonna go... find Bane," she informed as she stepped away from the bed.

"Yeah, I gotta go talk to him, too," Isaac replied. "I'll head downstairs in a minute. Oh, and Jenna?"

Feeling slightly worried about Isaac talking to Bane when she would be with him as well, Jenna tried not to let this fear turn into an expression on her face as she looked over to him.

"Happy Birthday," Isaac said with a devious grin, and Jenna rolled her eyes, knowing very well all he was trying to do was get under her skin. Honestly, due to his comment, it was working. Jenna nodded with a small smile before she finally stepped over to the door to open it. "Thank you," she said again.

"You're welcome."

This time, Jenna found she had actually been able to use her right hand somewhat as she climbed down the ladder, and she could not stop smiling to herself as she started toward the stairs. She kept her eyes focused on her cast, and as she started down the stairs and into the basement, she began to curl her fingers down before stretching them out again, and she continued with his motion as she absentmindedly started toward Bane's bedroom. She was thankful to Isaac about a lot of things, but she knew if it had not been for him, her arm probably would have never healed. Hell, if it hadn't been for Isaac, her arm would have still been bent at that disgusting angle, the bone pressing against her skin...

Just when Jenna grew disgusted at this thought and tried to get it out of her mind, she stopped short just before she could run into Bane, who had just stepped outside of his door. Lowering her arm and glancing up, her eyes wondered over that large, bulky vest he wore over his bare chest and that brown armband she had thought of previously before she finally looked into his eyes. Dread began to wash over her, and she quickly cleared her throat.

"I-I'm back," She replied. "I've been back, but Isaac was helping me with this new cast."

"I can see that," Bane replied, Jenna unable to detect any angry tones in his muffled and machine-like voice. She grew relieved at this, but when Bane suddenly began to reach out toward her right arm, she froze, her eyes lowering to watch him take a gentle hold of the light cast. After he had raised her arm, he gently tugged her closer to himself, and Jenna quickly corrected her footing once she was standing a mere few inches away from him as Bane inspected the cast, electrified shocks running up her spine continuously as her stomach gave a disgusting flutter when she inhaled his scent.

"This cast is fragile," he commented as he squeezed on it slightly, his eyes moving from Jenna's cast to his leather armband. He stared at it for a moment before he looked back to the white and blue plastic that covered Jenna's arm.

Jenna wasn't sure what to say to this, so instead of speaking something unintelligible, she remained quiet as she merely nodded.

"You'll have to be cautious with it, but I'm sure you are excited to finally have more mobility with your arm... after all this time."

It was almost outstanding to Jenna that Bane could so casually talk about her arm, as if he hadn't been the one to cause this problem in the first place. But remembering what Isaac had told her, Jenna nodded again and swallowed.

"I know," she replied. "And I am, definitely."

Just at that moment, Jenna heard footsteps on the stairs, and upon her turning around and Bane glancing up, they watched Isaac make his way down the stairs and start over to them. Bane immediately let go of Jenna's arm, and she held it still at her side as she stepped backwards to allow Isaac to approach Bane.

"Did they talk?" Isaac asked him, Jenna backing away more, figuring it would be a good idea to leave them alone and retreat to her room.

"They did," Bane replied. "His original plans had been to arrive here sometime during early January, but once he discovers what has become of his daughter, I'm sure we can expect an earlier visit."

Bane's words had been the last thing Jenna had heard before she closed her door, and with a swallow, able to feel those shocks pulsating up and down her spine still, she turned on her light before turning to step over to her cot.

–

Jenna had been sitting alone in her room for a few hours on end, but she didn't mind the solitude or the silence. She was too consumed with looking at her arm, moving it about, and being truly mesmerized by the fact that she could actually _move _it again, and didn't have to use a sling or keep it bent under her chest on her arm. As she stood and paced about her room patiently, the feeling of getting to keep her arm still at her _side _was enough to make the smile on her lips never fade.

After the first hour of just moving it around and thinking to herself, she had begun to pick up random objects around her room, just to see how well she could use her right hand. She found that she could not turn her arm about with out shooting pain rupturing through her, and that she could not grip anything tightly, but once she discovered she could actually somewhat hold her eyeliner pencil, she had knelt down in front of her chair, propped up that mirror shard, and tried to apply the eyeliner, only to stop not even a minute after she had started to finish the rest with her left hand as best she could. The lines were a bit jagged, but nonetheless, Jenna enjoyed wearing the makeup around her eyes, and she was just overjoyed that she had at least discovered she could hold things with her right hand. However, it appeared as though her hand would have to go through some sort of therapy to gain its strength back. She wasn't sure if this was true, but she knew she could always ask Bane.

_Isaac_, she corrected herself quickly. _Go ask Isaac_. She closed her eyes as she sat back down on her cot, after she had put her makeup away, and she let out a sigh. Bane had been the only person to be consuming her thoughts lately, and now, even just when she thought of his name alone, that fluttering sensation, though short-lived, would pick up in her stomach. _Why not ask Bane, though_? Another half of her wondered. _You saw his face when Isaac had come downstairs. _

It was true. Jenna had seen some sort of emotion cloud his eyes, but she wasn't entirely sure what it was. She had a feeling that it was burning Bane on the inside, having to witness Jenna _still _spending so much time with Isaac, and while she wasn't exactly sure why it bothered him, she knew it was, and she knew there had to be a legitimate reason for it to. It was because of this that she was actually considering asking Bane about the strength of her hand. But this also meant attempting to please him by going to him for answers, and judging by the way he had started really trying to talk to her again, it was something that _would_ ultimately satisfy him.

A part of Jenna didn't want to give him this satisfaction. She wanted to stay angry at him, she wanted to keep avoiding him, but she knew she could no longer keep up with it. Isaac had a point with all that he told her, and Jenna knew she should just accept Bane's new attitude. She may find it distasteful now, especially with these harboring feelings arising again, but what if it was to permanently go away? Jenna would lose _all _senses of hope, forever, and constantly live in paranoia and fear.

_Just go ask him_, she thought to herself. _Then go have a cigarette, _her mind added after she realized how rather sore her legs and back were starting to become after staying in her room for so long and sitting on her cot. _What's the harm? You be nice to him, and he'll keep being nice to you. Ignore anything else that happens_...

Swallowing, Jenna stood up from her cot, convincing herself the only reason she was doing this was so she could go have a cigarette. She wanted Bane to keep being nice to her, so to speak, but these feelings and the confusion were becoming overwhelming... She still wanted to stay away from him, but there were too many forces now that were forcing her to keep finding him.

After stepping out into the main part of the basement, the rest of the surrounding area dark, she started over toward Bane's open door, dim light flooding out onto the floor, but also some sort of flickering light was shining onto the floor, as well. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at this, but when she approached his door and stopped in front of his room, she noticed a large candle was burning away on his desk, which he was sitting at. Taking in a deep breath, Jenna raised her left fist – a habit now – and knocked on the frame of his door. Glancing up from whatever he had been doing, Bane turned slightly to glance at her from over his shoulder.

"Jenna," he greeted, slight curiosity laced within his voice. He said nothing more, however, and instead waited for Jenna to speak.

"I have a question," she said, easily standing still outside of his door, wanting to stay as far from him as possible suddenly. Her eyes glanced down to the flickering candle for a moment before she glanced back over to Bane. "About this," she added as she raised up her right arm.

"What about it?"

Jenna swallowed. "I just wanted to know if I need to go through some sort of... therapy... to regain strength?"

Bane nodded. "I'd assume so," he replied, and as soon as he held his left hand out toward her, inviting her into the room, Jenna felt her body stiffen immediately. "Let me see."

Swallowing again, Jenna had to force herself to place one foot in front of the other before she finally began into his room, and once she had approached him, his hand still stretched and waiting, Jenna carefully placed her right hand in his, unable to help but to widen her eyes when Bane closed his fingers around it and gently pulled her closer. Now, standing directly next to the desk and in front of him in his chair, she watched Bane look over her hand quickly before he turned to reach over his desk to grab a pen with his right hand. He let go of Jenna's hand before he handed her the pen.

"Write something," he instructed as he slid over a small scrap of paper toward her on the desk, and he glanced up at her, waiting for her to do it. Jenna stared at the paper for a minute before she glanced over to him, but deciding it best not to question him, especially when she was feeling so anxious already, she took the pen from him.

Bane watched her struggle to get a proper hold of the pen before she finally brushed her hair over her shoulder while leaning down, and he couldn't help but to glance away for a moment due to the soft skin on her neck and shoulder being exposed.

Jenna stared at the paper for another moment, wondering what she should write, but when she began to assume Bane was becoming inpatient, and when she realized it didn't really matter what she wrote, she touched the pen to the paper and began to struggle through creating her letters. Once she was done, Bane glanced back in her direction and he looked down onto the paper.

'_Hello'._

He chuckled softly to himself, not only at the word she had chosen, but also the jagged lines and curves that formed the intertwining letters. When he looked up to her hand that held the pen, he saw it was shaking slightly.

"Upon looking at your writing, what do _you _think needs to happen?" He glanced up to her just as she looked down to him, before her eyes wandered back onto the paper.

"It needs... therapy?" She half asked, and she watched Bane nod.

"You'll need to learn how to write again, as well as use the entirety of your hand."

Jenna frowned. _Learn to write again_? She wondered. That was something she would have never expected. "Like... how so?" She asked, watching as Bane turned in his chair to face the desk again.

"Practice," he replied. "Practice writing, practice picking things up and build up your grip strength. It'll take time, but it can be done."

Still frowning, Jenna nodded, and as that awkward feeling began to overcome her, she began to wonder if she should leave. It appeared as though Bane didn't care either way by this point, but Jenna felt as though she had nothing else to say to him. And why should she, especially now, after learning that she had to learn how to _write _again? She had thought that after her arm healed, she'd be as good as new. She never would have expected to undergo any type of rebuilding therapy. Even though she had begun to wonder about it in her room, she had never anticipated for Bane to confirm her suspicions.

Jenna took a smell step away from him, hating how the shocks and fluttering sensations were refusing to die down within her. _Leave_, she told herself, but already her body was too consumed with glancing around his room again, and wandering over all the items it contained while she tried to remember a time that she had actually _wanted _to be in there... with _him_.

"Where you talking about Karly's father with Isaac... earlier?" She asked, her eyes landing on the candle again before she glanced over to Bane, listening as he scribbled something down.

"I was," he replied.

"Is that why you were down by the creek, with her people?"

"Indeed," Bane replied, flashbacks of all the times Jenna would stay in his room and pester him with questions entering his mind. On the surface he felt himself becoming annoyed, but deep down, he realized, it was something he had been wanting to happen for a while.

Jenna swallowed, thinking back to how they had been drowning them, in that freezing, cold water. "Did you kill them all... or, most of them?" Jenna thought back to how many bound men had been thrown from the truck. There had to have been almost ten of them.

"What do _you _think, Jenna?" Bane retorted as he reached out to grab a different pen after his current one had started to run out of ink. Jenna glanced away and looked at the items scattered around his dresser.

"What's her dad gonna do when he gets here?" _God, stop with the questions! Just leave! _She scolded herself. She knew she should, but it felt as though something was forcing her to stay against her will. Something about the dim lighting in his room and the flickering candle made the atmosphere around her seem somewhat comforting. Though, as she glanced at the candle, she had to wonder why Bane even had that in the first place...

"Die," Bane replied simply, and Jenna couldn't help the grin that overcame her face. But as soon as it had appeared, she quickly forced it away.

"Oh," she replied. "Makes sense."

The room grew silent for a moment, but just before Jenna was about to silently leave, she heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. Upon turning around, she watched one of Bane's men head over to his room before stopping at the door, and he knocked on the frame before he immediately started talking, Bane having already turned around to face him.

"Sir, one of the hostages has confirmed our suspicions," he spoke quickly. "He said-" the thug stopped short suddenly when his eyes fell on Jenna, and she quickly faced away from him and instead looked at Bane.

"Good," Bane replied as he stood from the chair now. "Now we can be rid of them quicker," he added with a somewhat relieved sounding sigh. Without a word, he stepped past Jenna and began out of the room, and upon turning around again, she watched him head toward the stairs before he ascended them, and disappeared behind the wall. Her stomach dropping due to being alone in his room, Jenna had to wonder why he hadn't even bothered to kick her out. He had just silently granted her permission to stay in there, _without _him.

But now was finally Jenna's chance to leave, and she couldn't help but to feel stupid for even going to him. She wanted to avoid him and avoid these feelings, but she couldn't understand why she always found herself going back to him. She let out a sigh as she stepped toward the door, absentmindedly glancing over to her left at the colorful stack of boxes next to Bane's bed, and she paused the moment something caught her eye. Turning her body slightly, she narrowed her eyes on the object, something appearing brown and fuzzy sticking out slightly from one of the light blue boxes, and suddenly Jenna wasn't sure what overcame her, or why it had.

Mad confusion caused her to lean over Bane's bed slightly for a better look, and upon staring at the object more through the dim lighting, unable to tell what it was, intense curiosity pushed her to round the bed and slowly approach the boxes. Something about a fuzzy object, in _Bane's _room, didn't make much sense to her, and Jenna knew unless she found out what it was, it would eat her alive with wonder.

Once she approached the stack of boxes, realizing they were more like types of drawers stacked on top of each other, she swallowed as she glanced over to Bane's door, knowing already this was not a good idea. But something inside of her was burning, and _dying _to at least just see what the object was. She listened for a moment, and satisfied when her ears picked up no sound, she bit her lip as she turned back to the box. She placed her left hand on the edge of it and gently pulled the box out, her eyes raising upward to make sure none of the other boxes would come tumbling to the ground before she glanced back down into the box. But as soon as she had, her heart skipped several beats, and her eyes widened as her jaw dropped further than ever upon learning what the object was.

There, sitting amongst the various, unopened syringe needs and other scattered objects, was a small, brown teddy bear. As soon as her heart began to pound and race, it skipped more beats as Jenna reached down to placed her hand on the soft fuzz of the bear, and she could not stop herself as she began to gently pull it out of the box.

Her mouth still agape and her eyes twice their normal size, Jenna turned away from the boxes as she held the bear out in front of her with both her hands now, her elbows bent. _Bane has a teddy bear_? She wondered, amazed, to herself as her eyes moved all over the bear, taking in the brown fuzz that covered it, the missing patches of hair, and the way its left black eye hung down slightly, attached still by only a lose, black thread. Bewilderment blockaded Jenna from any other thought and skewed her sense of reality as she stared at the teddy bear.

She knew it was severely aged, judging by the missing hair, the hanging eye, and the overall looseness of the attached limbs, but she couldn't ever think to a time where Bane would have had a teddy bear. Come to think of it, she had a hard time picturing him as a child in the first place. Bane was the last person on _Earth, _or the _universe _that she would have expected to be carrying around a teddy bear. _Maybe it's not his_, she thought.

Consumed entirely with the object she held in her hands, she hadn't even heard Bane approaching until it was too late. When she noticed something move in her upper peripheral vision, she gasped loudly as soon as she glanced up, her eyes focused on a statue-like Bane standing by his door, on the other side of the bed.

Her heart began to race and pound against her chest even more as she stumbled back, her mouth opening and closing as she searched for words. "I-I'm sorry!" She began. "I... I didn't... I..." _Fuck! Fuck! FUCK! _She panicked to herself over and over in her head.

But despite what she was holding, and despite her sorry attempts to explain herself, Bane stood there, motionless, as he kept his eyes glued onto hers, and Jenna had the most difficult time ever reading what expression was shown on the exposed areas of his face or feeling what emotion he was giving off. She pictured him to lash at out her, drag her over the bed by her hair and slam her face against the wall hundreds of times. She knew now that she had discovered something _insanely _personal to him, and now, more than ever, she wished she had just left his room. _Fuck. _

Bane's eyed dropped from hers onto the bear she held at her side suddenly, and he blinked slowly. "Where did you find that?" He asked, his tone shockingly calm, low, and collected. It was the last thing he would have ever expected to show Jenna, and the fact that she had _found_ it was more than infuriating; he had been so sure he had placed the object somewhere safe. But oddly enough, despite the boiling anger inside, Bane found himself to be remaining rather calm, and instead of putting all the blame on Jenna immediately, he waited to hear her answer.

"It... was in this drawer, sticking out," she replied in a shaky tone of voice as she stepped to the side slightly to show Bane the exact box. "I'm sorry, I just... I thought-"

She was interrupted when Bane suddenly raised his hand to her, his silent way of telling her to stop talking. A part of him had figured Jenna had gone out of her way to search his room, but after everything that happened, and after what Jenna had told him, it appeared as though her curiosity had gotten the best of her, and still, Bane was through with feeling angry toward her.

"Perhaps I should have been more careful about where I stored him," Bane said now as he lowered his hand, and he began slowly around the bed, Jenna's body stiffening all the while, but she couldn't help but to furrow her eyebrows due to something Bane had said.

"H-_him_?" She repeated as she watched Bane approach her, and she took a small step back absentmindedly as he began to near, his eyes focused on the ground.

"Osito," he said once he had approached her, and he reached out for the bear, "is his name."

Jenna couldn't help but to jump, her body beginning to tremble, but she immediately handed Bane the bear with her shaking hand. _It has a name_? She wondered to herself while also feeling astounded that Bane wasn't trying to kill her already.

"Osito?" She repeated. "What's... what's-"

"It's Spanish for _little bear_," Bane answered, his voice still low, and Jenna kept her eyes on him as Bane stared down at the bear in his large hand. "I obtained him in the Pena Duro prison," he went on, not noticing how much more wide Jenna's eyes had become. _Prison_? She thought to herself. She had never heard of Bane doing any time in prison. When had this been, and why had he been carrying around a teddy bear? Suddenly, there were many questions building in Jenna's mind, but at the same time she felt super desperate to leave his room.

"I considered him to be my only friend," Bane went on, more so to himself, it seemed. Jenna felt dizzy as she remained staring at him, and for some reason, the silence seemed to only make the situation worse.

"What's Pena.. D- Dur– ...o prison?" She asked him now, her voice still shaking.

"It is a prison located on the corrupt South American island, the nation of Santa Prisca," Bane explained, Jenna's lips parting in wonder and fear. "It is a pit where men are thrown, and left to die."

Jenna's brow furrowed again, and she shook her head slightly. "When did you go there?"

"Years ago, when I was merely a child," Bane replied, deciding he would say nothing more about his past, whether Jenna had more questions or not. A heavy weight had descended onto her shoulders, and although she was left feeling anxious and terrified still, she felt confused and truly interested suddenly about this prison that Bane had gone to as a _child._ _I was born in Hell on Earth... _Bane had once told her. Now, Jenna understood what he meant.

"So you carried around... Osito?" Jenna wondered, wishing she could find the strength to just _shut up. _But Bane was still staring down at the bear, keeping his eyes off of Jenna, and she wasn't sure if she should be thankful for this or not.

"I did," Bane confirmed. "As I told you, in the eyes of a young child he was my only friend amongst the other prisoners." Jenna glanced back down to the bear when Bane suddenly turned him over, and Jenna couldn't help but to step a little closer and lean over when she watched Bane part a slit that had been cut in the bears back, and she watched with those same widened eyes as Bane pulled out a small knife, the blade still stained with traces of aged blood. "He was certainly convenient as a means of sporadic self-defense," he added, finally glancing up to Jenna as he held onto the small knife in his hand.

All the information that she had just gathered was overwhelming, and she could feel it suffocating her. "Why did you keep it? Or, him?" Jenna wondered, closing her eyes and shaking her head to herself due to her mistake.

"Memories," Bane replied as he replaced the knife back into the bear's back. "And as a reminder of what once was, and what will never be, _again_."

Jenna swallowed, and she backed up a little more when Bane stepped forward to place the bear back into the blue drawer, and he closed it before he leaned up to look down at her. "I suppose I should be angry with you due to your actions, but at the same time, I suppose I sort of understand the curiosity that must have struck you."

Jenna bowed her head, but despite Bane's words, she couldn't help but to have the feeling that he was still going to hurt her. "I'm sorry," she replied. "I saw it, and it was just-"

"The last thing you would have expected to see in _here_," Bane finished, slight amusement in his tone, and Jenna glanced up to him with a disoriented expression. "I understand," he replied. "But the next time you touch anything in here without my permission, I'll have your hand for it."

Jenna swallowed before she nodded. "I understand," she replied. "I-I'm sorry."

"Your apology is accepted. Now I suggest you go outside and smoke away your anxiety. There is nothing left to say or do about the issue."

The room was spinning faster than a roller-coaster by this point, and as Jenna started past him, she stumbled slightly, and she felt her body freeze over when she felt Bane place his hand in the area between her neck and chest to help catch her. Standing straight suddenly while still attempting to flee, she felt Bane's fingers slide off of her skin slowly before she finally had a straight shot out of his room and toward the stairs to freedom.

Jenna wasted no time with marching toward the exit door and throwing it open before she rushed toward the open garage, hoping Isaac would be around so Jenna could have a cigarette. A few other henchmen were standing about in the garage, but fortunately for Jenna, she found Isaac kneeling down in the front of a large, attached box on the bed of his truck.

"Isaac," she spoke up to him, grabbing his attention immediately. "Can I get a cigarette. Please?"

His eyes narrowing on her, he studied the look on her face for a moment before he finished with placing the same sniper rifle they had been using earlier in the box, and he after he closed the lid, he turned and jumped down from the truck. Glancing up at Jenna again and watching the way she was pacing and turning in a small circle, her widened aqua eyes focused on the ground, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and after plucking two out, he replaced the pack and stepped closer to her. Once Jenna had turned again, he tapped her shoulder with the side of his hand, and his own eyes widened when Jenna jumped before looking up at him.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost, girl," he said, Jenna finally taking the cigarette and lighter from him, and he watched her hungrily light up before she held the lighter down at her side and continued on with her drag. Jenna didn't reply to this, and keeping his eyes focused on her as she exhaled, Isaac slowly leaned over and reached down to grab the lighter from her hand, Jenna jumping again when his hand brushed against hers. "What the hell happened?" He asked once he had the lighter and Jenna was staring at him.

"I..." Jenna immediately trailed off, and she shook her head as she glanced away. Was she allowed to tell him? Did Isaac already know? Jenna had learned that Osito was something very personal to Bane, and she had the feeling that it was something he wouldn't even tell his right hand man about. But now she had made such a scene in front of Isaac, and her body was still trembling, leaving her desperate for Isaac's advice and reassurance. If he knew about the bear and Bane's feelings toward it, perhaps he'd be able to predict what Bane would do next, regardless of how calmly he had handled the situation.

Isaac had since then lit up his own cigarette, and as he exhaled, he narrowed his eyes on Jenna. "_What _is your problem? You're shaking," he pointed out, though he was beginning to figure Jenna had done something to provoke Bane, and suddenly Isaac groaned. "Oh no, what did you do to piss him off now?"

Jenna immediately looked up to him, and the way her eyes widened even more only confirmed what Isaac had guessed. Jenna opened her mouth to talk, but no words came out, and instead she shook her head. Isaac, now truly intrigued, stepped closer to her.

"Tell me," he prompted.

"I can't," Jenna said in a quieter voice, and Isaac watched her glance at the men around the garage before he turned to look at them too.

"Why not?" He whispered back, humoring her with a grin, but when Jenna looked over to him with that fearful look in her eye, his grin faded.

"Because... it's private. He's probably watching us now..." she added as she glanced up to look around the garage, searching for cameras. Isaac rolled his eyes at this as he took another drag.

"Considering your paranoia, Jenna," Isaac began, "if whatever you did was _really _that bad, you wouldn't be up here talking to me right now. What happened?" He asked in a more stern voice.

_Don't tell him, don't tell him_, Jenna was telling herself, but the urge to tell him was becoming stronger. Jenna glanced around the garage, eying the thugs, and after Isaac watched her do this again, he rolled his eyes with a sigh before he titled his head back.

"Alright, everyone inside!" He called, causing Jenna to jump as she immediately looked back over to him. Isaac was looking around again, watching the thugs slowly retreat inside. "C'mon, inside!" He called. "This is an order."

"You're allowed to do that?" Jenna asked him.

"They don't call me second in command in for nothin'," Isaac replied. "See, now they're gone. Tell me what happened."

"Isaac, I _can't_," Jenna said, frowning deeper as she took another drag.

"_Why_?" He asked.

"It's personal, I'm scared he's watching us talk... He'll know that I'm telling you and then he'll finally hurt me."

"_Finally_?" Isaac repeated. "Jenna my God, look, I swear to you he's not gonna hurt you, whatever it is you did. What have I told you? Bane's a man of quick action. If he wanted to hurt you over... this... he would have by now."

"Maybe," Jenna replied, suddenly remembering a time when Isaac had told her that, and all the times it proved to be true. But still, there was the possibility that Isaac didn't know about Bane's bear. Perhaps she was overacting by this point, but she was torn between wanting to tell Isaac, and wanting to stay quiet about it. But she knew now she had created too much hype over the subject. "But I think it's something he wouldn't want me to talk about."

Isaac paused for a moment. "Did you talk to him about something?" When Jenna shook her head, he went on. "Did you say something wrong? Break something? Find something?" Jenna's face had been blank as she listened to him, but when Isaac asked her about finding something, he had seen the way her lips parted before she looked away, only to force herself to quickly look back to him. "What did you find?" He asked her, blinking slowly before he took another drag.

Jenna let out a huge sigh before she took another drag from her cigarette. "It's personal, Isaac. I really think it's something I shouldn't tell you. Please, just drop it."

"Jenna there is very few things that I don't know about Bane," he assured. "And I highly doubt he would tell you of these things, over me, or at least _before _me."

Jenna was still frowning as she exhaled finally. "What if it's one of those things?"

After a moment, Isaac finally shrugged. "Alright then, keep it to yourself." He took another drag from his cigarette, and he turned away from her and started toward the opened garage door, and he stopped just in front of it, exhaling slowly. _Three...two...one–- _

"Okay, wait," Jenna said, right on cue, and Isaac grinned as he listened to her approach. But once she was behind him, Isaac wiped the grin from his face and turned around. "If I tell you, you gotta _swear_ not to say anything. And for the love of God, Isaac, _please_ don't tell Bane. Like you can't, at all! Promise? _Promise?_"

Isaac couldn't help but to laugh. "Alright, I promise. What did you find?"

"Well I found... It was... a–" Jenna stopped short, still positive that it was something she shouldn't be telling him, but now it was too late. And she still really did want to tell him, just so she wouldn't have to be alone in this. But if Isaac didn't know, and by this point Jenna was sure that he didn't, she would only be dragging Isaac into danger with her again. And after all she had done to avoid it, she wasn't prepared to do it again. "Never mind," she said.

"Jenna," Isaac grumbled, tossing his cigarette away. "Just tell me. Secret's safe with me, I promise. Unless it's something that I must report back to him."

Jenna glared at him. "Sometimes I wish you weren't so loyal," she said, and Isaac let out a small, breathless laugh. "Alright... did you know that... Bane has a... a– teddy bear...?" Jenna took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes, hating how Isaac was immediately silent. When she opened her eyes, she saw he was just staring at her with his eyes narrowed more than usual, deep in thought.

_Teddy bear_? He thought to himself, slightly thrown off, but suddenly a conversation him and Bane had had years ago re-entered his mind, and he snapped out of his thoughts as he focused his eyes back on Jenna. "Oh, you mean Osito?"

Jenna's eyes widened as her jaw dropped slightly. "You know about him?" She asked, astonished, and Isaac chuckled.

"Of course," he replied. "I didn't know he was a teddy bear though. All I knew was that he was just some toy he had in Pena Duro. He carried his knife with him that way."

Jenna was shaking her head, and Isaac watched her turn away from him as she took another hit from her cigarette.

"See? That wasn't so bad," he assured. "I already knew about it."

"But you didn't know specifically what it was!"

"Now I do," Isaac said. "Jenna there are more important secrets to be kept. The world will go on. Look at you, remember the time you scratched my truck, and you were _terrified _of what I'd do? Look at the way you're acting now. But when true tragedy happens you barely shake."

"Save it, Isaac, I've already gotten this lecture from Bane before."

"Well it's true," Isaac replied with a laugh. "C'mon, it's not an issue. So you found it – you probably went out of your way to go _get _it, but that's not the point," he quickly went on when Jenna turned to glare at him again. "Bane found out, and he _didn't hurt you. _He's not going to hurt you, and he most certainly is not going to come after me. You may have gotten off lucky this time, but s_top _shaking, and learn from your mistake. Okay? Perhaps you should consider this your birthday present," he added with a smirk.

Jenna rolled her eyes with thinned lips before she lifted her left hand, threatening to hit him, but she lowered it immediately when she realized it was do no good. Besides, Isaac was only trying to have fun with her. "Okay," Jenna mumbled finally, verbally ignoring his birthday comment. "But don't tell him I told you."

"I wouldn't bother him with such an issue," Isaac assured with a grin.

–

The rest of the day passed rather quickly for Jenna, as the days usually did now. As she lay in her cot, thinking through the past couple of days, she found it to be amazing how rather quickly things had seemed to get on a better track. Thus far in her life, this holiday had proven to be the most eventful for her, even if some of the events were life threatening. And in retrospect, this birthday for her had been the most easy going, despite Isaac's jokes. But for this, she was grateful. For the first time in her life, she could grow a year older in complete peace.

But now, she realized, it seemed as though everything bad that had happened in the past were on the path of being corrected, if they had not been already. Granted she had to undergo some sort of therapy with her hand, she had finally obtained a lighter cast, and as a whole, her arm was on a better path to healing. Since her seclusion and close-minded attitude, Jenna found herself feeling a little more like her old herself, even if she was acting this way and sharing it with Bane. But her seclusion was something he rarely brought up, and it seemed as though it was something he wouldn't put her through again.

After her night with Isaac, the possible future outcomes had looked terrible, but Jenna could have never imagined it would turn out the way it had. Bane had forgiven her and Isaac, and it seemed as though he was tired of being angry at not only Isaac, but also Jenna, for everything she had done before.

Granted she had almost screwed up earlier that day with finding Osito, Bane had handled the situation rather calmly, and had even gone as far to explain about the bear to Jenna. Isaac's reassurance, even though Jenna never accepted it when it was happening, proved to help her calm down again, and after returning inside, she found that she could finally breathe. But still, the fact that Bane had such an item was incredible to her, even if he had when he was a child.

She pictured him in this prison –in this _pit_– as a young boy, dragging the bear around by the ear as he ventured around, amongst the other prisoners. She could not picture his face, his height, his clothes or the type of body underneath, but she could picture a fresh-looking Osito being dragged against the ground, and Bane's gray eyes. She went on to picture this same boy taking out the knife from his bear and threatening a prisoner with it. She had seen the blood stains on the steel, but had Bane ever actually killed somebody with it? Jenna wanted to know, but she knew she would not obtain an answer. If it was something Bane didn't want to talk about, then she knew Isaac most certainly would keep his lips sealed about the topic.

But the fact that Bane _still _had the bear, after all these years, and had made sure to take it with him everywhere he stayed, all over the world, it seemed, was something incredible. Bane was the last person she would have ever expected to have kept such an item. Jenna had been nervous before, but now, now that she could breathe, her heart beat had calmed, and she was safe within her room and in her mind, she found the idea to be almost warming. She couldn't help but to feel as though finding the bear had proven something to her. She felt as though the softer side of Bane she had only ever witnessed a few times was solidified due to the bear, and more of a real thing that existed within him. It was stupid, Jenna knew, and probably untrue, but why else would Bane keep such a thing? It held sentimental value to him, regardless of what the object was.

Now, as the time turned to nine o' clock PM, after coming back inside from smoking a final cigarette with Isaac, Jenna brushed her teeth in the bathroom before she ventured downstairs to change. Bane's shirt was still laying on the floor where she had left it that morning, and Jenna bit down on her bottom lip as she stared at it, heavily considering putting it on again. She had other shirts she could wear to bed, but suddenly she could not shake the desire of wearing _his _shirt to bed. But why? Because today had been a rather good day? Because she had discovered new insight to Bane?

_Because it's comfortable, _she convinced herself, and with that thought, she undressed herself and put on his shirt.

Turning off the light and kicking her boots to the side, Jenna pulled back the blanket on the cot, and she laid down on it, shivering as she pulled the blanket up with her left hand. She moved to lay on her left side, but she paused, wondering if she could finally sleep on her right. She began to turn, accidentally twisting her arm as she did so, and she stopped, hissing in pain before she cautiously continued with her turn. Once she was on her side, she stared frustratedly into the dark as she wondered what to do with her arm. Laying on it was out of the question, and keeping it uncomfortably stretched outright and dangling off of her cot was out of the question as well. Defeated, Jenna rolled onto her left side again.

It took her a while, but Jenna had finally managed to fall into a shallow sleep. Her slumber did not last long, however, before Jenna opened her eyes to stare ahead into the darkness again. She let out a yawn, feeling as exhausted as ever, and her left side becoming sore, she began to turn onto her back, only to growl quietly in pain when that same, splitting pain ruptured through her hips, up her spine, and stung her neck and shoulders. Rather than dealing with the pain and staying on her back, Jenna sat up on the cot, the cold temperature of the room causing goosebumps to immediately cover her arms, and she allowed herself to shiver at she sat there in the dark. She couldn't keep doing this any longer. If Bane wasn't going to be the death of her, than surely this cot would.

She could feel her shoulders throbbing, even as she sat there, and she felt as though this was the final straw. For weeks now she had been unable to sleep soundly in her cot. In the beginning, she figured the only reason she had slept somewhat well was because she was just thankful for the cot in the first place. But now, she felt as though she was too big and heavy for the cot, and she had absolutely no room and no warmth when laying in it. Every other night she had merely laid back down and forced herself back to sleep, but now she couldn't escape dreading, even more so, how sore she would be in the morning, and the days to come. She knew this situation was becoming worse.

But what did it matter? She knew she was stuck in there. There was absolutely _no way _she could even _consider _sleeping in Isaac's bed. Last time she had, that had ended in near tragedy. Granted it would be different this time, she knew Bane would not accept this, Isaac would say no anyway, and she couldn't even bring herself to picture asking him in the first place. Her only option left was... Bane.

_No, no, no, no, NO. _She told herself. _Don't you _dare_ ask him. _It seemed easy enough to avoid. Surely, dealing with her cot was _much _better than sleeping in Bane's room... _next _to him... if he even said yes in the first place. _He won't even say yes_, Jenna decided.

_But, what if he _does_? _She wondered when another stinging pain shot up her spine. _He won't_... _But... what if he did? I could _sleep _for once... _It's not worth it, she went on to think. How could she ever go on to do that anyway? It was uncalled for, it was disgusting, it was wrong, it was... almost desirable...

Any bed would do her justice by this point, even if it was Bane's bed. Besides, what if the day was coming where Bane would make her start doing things for him again, like running errands and such? If Jenna's back and neck pain grew worse, she'd be unable to preform these duties to Bane's expectations, and that would lead her to get in trouble or hurt again. What if this problem progressed to the point of her constantly being tired and cranky towards everyone, a feat that was easy for her to achieve, and even toward Bane? _That _would lead her into more trouble, for sure.

_Stop. You're just trying to convince yourself to go ask... _

Jenna remained still as she stared into the pitch black darkness. All these thoughts and feelings were leaving her more exhausted than she had been upon waking up, and suddenly, unfortunately, she could not escape the desire to at least _try_.

_He's been better lately... we've been better lately... things are looking better... maybe it's worth a shot... just so I can sleep... just this one night..._

Her mind was still screaming no, but her body was already pushing the blanket off of herself before she stood from the cot. Simultaneously, she felt a force pushing her back, willing her to stay in the room, but an even stronger force was pushing her on to the door and outside of it.

The basement seemed darker than the blackest cave, and Jenna wouldn't have been able to see an inch in front of her if it wasn't for that dim, orange and flickering light escaping out from underneath Bane's closed door that was leading her to it. She approached it, his door growing nearer and nearer, and once she had reached it, she stopped short, her heart beginning to race. But she had somehow managed to convince herself to do it, and now she had come too far to turn back. Bane could either say no, and Jenna would retreat back to her room, feeling embarrassed, but able to avoid any of these other disgusting feelings that were coming back to her. Or, Bane could say yes, and the outcomes would be both great and terrible. She would get to be comfortable and warm, and hopefully achieve a deeper sleep than she had in weeks, but on the other hand, she would amongst Bane, in his room, with him probably _right _next to her. She'd have to fall asleep thinking about him directly, and feel that fluttering in her stomach and those tingling shocks all night long...

But, in this case, it seemed as though these feelings were better than feelings of physical pain, and she couldn't even imagine how she would feel after obtaining a better nights sleep. _It's worth a try..._ she reminded herself, and with a deep breath, she finally left three, very small knocks on his door, a part of her hoping he would not answer, while another part of her dreaded that she had woken him up, even with that candle lit.

But when she heard his chair rolling against the floor, and him standing up before more than likely stepping to the door –she knew his boots were not on– the door opened, revealing a seemingly taller-than-usual, shirtless Bane.

"Jenna?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked down at her, noticing immediately that she was wearing his shirt, which she kept held down in front of her with both her hands, her arms stretched out and flattened. "It's nearly one in the morning. What do you need?"

His voice was quiet, and most importantly, calm, and this helped Jenna to calm down some. She hadn't realized how late it was, however, and she swallowed before she finally looked directly into his eyes.

"I'm sorry for bothering you... I just... I couldn't sleep."

Bane stayed silent for a moment as he continued to stare down at her. "Okay..." he finally replied slowly. "And... what do you want _me _to do about that?"

"I-I was wondering..." Jenna trailed off, her eyes wandering onto the floor as she felt herself backing down, but she had already started her question, and she had a feeling Bane was already anticipating what was coming as he continued to seemingly glare down at her. She took a deep breath before she finally forced her eyes back to his, trying to hold onto her courage. "...can I sleep in here? J-just for tonight," she added quickly, not only for Bane's reassurance, but for hers as well.

Bane's eyes had widened slightly, but he did not give her an answer right away. Truthfully, he wasn't sure _how _to answer. There had once been a time when he was so content kicking her out of his room when he wasn't there, or just whenever he felt like it, but he had never actually pictured Jenna sleeping in his room, in his _bed_, _with _him. A part of him was demanding for him to turn her down. Just because he was over the anger and ready to get on a better track with her did not mean he had to allow this. But on the other hand, Bane could see how terribly nervous she appeared to be, and he could only imagine the amount of courage she had to build up prior to knocking on his door. That was admirable.

_You are just trying to convince yourself to say yes, _he thought to himself. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't, but either way, the desire to say no seemed to be receding the longer the seconds ticked on. _What harm would it do_? He wondered.

"Why?" He asked, his way of purposely prolonging his time to think about it.

"My back, and neck and hips," Jenna began to explain. "They hurt, and the pain's been getting worse. It's the... cot," she added honestly. "But it's not that I'm not thankful for it, it's just–"

Bane couldn't help but to chuckle. "I understand, Jenna, for _your _sake." He understood? Did that mean his answer was yes? _It's just for one night. Consider it a favor for her. _

_ Another one? _Bane wondered. He had already done her a favor, many, actually, and considering her reactions yesterday and her actions in his room earlier that day, why should he allow this? But as he focused his sights back onto Jenna, and watched her shiver as she struggled to keep her shirt –_his _shirt– pulled down to cover her legs as much as she could, suddenly he didn't want to deny her of this.

Regardless of his reasons, or what would come of it, he silently stepped back, opening the door more as he did so, and he glanced away as soon as Jenna lifted her eyes up to see what he had done. Her heart skipped a beat as her breath hitched in her throat, and she shuddered upon realizing that he was actually saying _yes. _Whether she had been anticipating this answer or not, suddenly Jenna felt as though she couldn't move upon being _welcome _to actually sleep in his room.

But before too much time could pass, Jenna forced herself to take a large step into his room, and as soon as she was inside, her anxiety increased by one-hundred percent upon turning around to watch Bane close the door. As he started toward his desk again, Jenna quickly turned around, and after eying the various papers on the desk among a few other items, one of them being a large, black handgun, she swallowed before turning around just as Bane had approached the chair.

"Um... what side?" She asked him, standing at the foot of the bed behind the chair. Bane looked up to her before he sat down and nodded toward the the side of the bed closest to the colorful boxes, and Jenna nodded before she stepped over toward the boxes, being reminded instantly of what was sitting inside of the light blue box in the middle.

His white blanket and sheets were pulled all the way up on the bed, and laid flat against the mattress and underneath the two white pillows that sat side by side on the top. Biting her lip, Jenna gently lifted up the pillow she assumed was okay to claim as hers for the night as she drew back the blankets, exposing a black sheet underneath. Once the blankets had been drawn back, an action she had prolonged longer than necessary, she swallowed before finally turning to sit down on the bed, and she swung her legs onto the top it before she moved them under the cool blankets. Still shivering, she scooted down slightly, and she could feel her heart pounding against her chest with mighty vigor as she laid her head on the rather fluffy pillow while pulling the blankets up.

From where he sat at his desk, Bane had been listening to her, and picturing her actions in his mind. He could picture her face clearly, frightened, her eyes probably darting to him every now and again, but he could not imagine what was going on in her head for the life of him. Although she had probably not meant to do so loudly, Bane had heard the faint sigh she let out as she finally stopped moving, and finally he tore his eyes away from the wall in front of him to glance back down to the plans he had been writing out.

Laying on her left side, Jenna closed her eyes, but they immediately popped back open as more and more realization flooded over her. She stared ahead at the wall on the other side of the bed, watching the light flicker against it, and she couldn't remember his mattress being so stiff all the times she had laid in his bed before. It had seemed so different then...

But it was a _bed_, and anything was more comfortable than that cot by this point. Bending her legs at the knees and curling into a ball from underneath the warming blankets, she finally closed her eyes, reminding herself of the reasons she had done this in the first place. The longer she laid there, the heavier she could feel her eyes becoming as sleep began to come to her, but in the back of her mind, she couldn't avoid dreading when Bane would actually be _joining _her.

Swallowing, Jenna opened her eyes. _Don't worry about it_, she told herself. _Just sleep. _But still, as if just realizing the kindness Bane had done for her, she continued staring at the wall as she parted her lips to speak.

"Thank you," she said to him in a small, gentle voice, and for the first time, it felt as though this particular thank you was sincere. Bane stayed silent, but finally, when Jenna closed her eyes again, she felt her body relax, and within minutes, she was asleep.

**I never say thank you enough to all of you, my wonderful readers, for all of the support and reviews. I know I always ask you to review, but please know that I appreciate all of the reviews, favorites and alerts. Without them, this story would be nothing. **

**So now I'd like to let you all in on something that I wrote the other night and posted on my other Tumblr blog where I post other short stories and drabbles. I wrote a dream-sequence (inspired by the song 'We Don't Care' by Demon Hunter) involving Jenna, Isaac and Bane that takes place a day or two after Bane discovered what Jenna and Isaac had done to betray him. An _alternate course of events has happened_ instead of what the story portrayed: Bane has not forgiven them, tragedy has occurred, and again this is a dream Jenna is having about the situation. So please give it a read and find a way to tell me what you think! If you want as well, follow me on that Tumblr page! A complete list of all my sites are on my profile.**

**The link for this is on my profile for my secondary CTAVR Tumblr page. Once you're there, click on the title "Feels Like We've Run Out of Air" at the top, under my name, and you're set!  
**

**Also, you should join my Facebook group dedicated to Bane (and Barsad), Mercenary of the Shadows. The link is on my profile, just follow the directions listed next to it.**

AND Jenna and Joey have tumblr accounts! Go follow them and bother them with conversations and questions and stuff! THEY are the ones who will answer you. Links can be found on my profile! Go have some fun!  


**I hope you enjoyed this latest installment, please leave me your thoughts!**

**Till the next chapter, readers!**


	27. An Unexpected Message

Something firm was beneath Jenna, disallowing her from sinking into it as she was typically use to feeling upon waking up, but something lightweight and soft was laying on top of her, and keeping the entirety of her body warm and blocked from the cold that she could feel upon her face, surrounding her. She was lying on her left side, and she hadn't felt this comfortable in what seemed like years, with her right arm resting on the side of her body, her legs curled slightly back, and her left arm bent comfortably underneath her. The atmosphere around her was silent, except for some sort of fragile ringing noise – from a TV, perhaps? – and her eyes remained heavy.

Jenna wasn't sure when she had woken up, or what for, but for the first time in a long time, she had a difficult time opening her eyes. She didn't want to open them. She didn't want to move, even an inch. She was warm, secured, and comfortable, but her groggy mind would not allow her understand why. Wherever she was, Jenna just wanted to lay there and sleep forever, amongst the blend of firm and soft, warm and cold, and the ringing sound that was actually rather peaceful to her ears.

But Jenna couldn't sleep forever, especially not after what she had built up the courage to do last night. Being honest with herself, she was just surprised she had even fallen asleep in Bane's...

With a startled gasp, Jenna's eyes popped open, and she could feel the blood in her body freeze to ice the moment her eyes focused on Bane's dresser across from the open area of the bed, on the other side of the room. Her breath hitching in her throat, she darted to her eyes over to stare at the partially opened bedroom door, which was allowing light to enter the room from the lights in the main part of the warehouse, before she moved them the opposite way to look down onto his desk. His TV was on the rather still images of the cameras, which was casting more light in the room, and as realization swept over her, she finally pushed herself up with her left arm.

Taking in a deep breath before she pushed her hair out of her face, her body immediately began to shake as the cold rushed over her while she continued to look around. _Oh my God... _

It was difficult to believe. It was almost surreal. At first, Jenna had been convinced her actions the night prior had been a dream, but now, as consciousness continued to gradually come back to her, it all made sense: the firm mattress, the soft and warm comforter-type blanket on top of her, the ringing from the TV... Jenna could barely believe it.

Still shivering slightly and trying to catch her breath, Jenna turned her head to the left and looked down onto the bed, and her brow furrowed when she noticed 'Bane's' side of the bed to be completely made. The blankets were pulled all the way up and his pillow rested neatly on top of them. Her eyes narrowing, Jenna wondered if Bane had even slept next to her at all. If he had, she sure as hell didn't hear or feel him get into the bed, something she imagined would be difficult to ignore with a man his size. Or had she really achieved _that _much of a deep sleep?

She must have, she figured. Naturally fighting the norm, her back and neck had not given a harsh spurt of pain upon sitting up, and already Jenna was beginning to feel wide awake and rejuvenated. Unsure completely if she should be disgusted or relieved, Jenna finally threw the blankets off of herself and swung her legs off of the bed. The floor was cold as she stood up, and when she caught a glimpse of that light blue box, stacked in the middle of the others directly next to her, a shiver went up her spine, reminding her of what she had found in the box the day prior. Struggling to ignore the memory, Jenna turned to start out of the room, suddenly very desperate to go far from it, but when she caught site of her messy side of the bed in comparison to Bane's, she immediately paused, biting her lip. With a small grumble, she stepped back up to her side of the bed, figuring it would be in her best interest to make her half of the bed, as well, and after she had pulled up the blankets, smoothed them out, and fixed her pillow on top of them, she finally turned to exit Bane's room.

She wasn't stumbling sleepily as she walked, and when she paused at the door frame, the lights above weren't blinding. This sensation of feeling completely rejuvenated was almost foreign to her, but although her body felt better than it had in a while, her mind was left feeling disgusted and confused. She had been aware of her intentions perfectly: asking Bane if she could sleep in his bed had been her last resort into deeply desiring a better night's sleep than the ones she had been getting. But she could have never anticipated getting one of the _best _night sleeps she had ever gotten in her life time...

The basement appeared as empty as ever, and it was deathly silent as she started for the stairs, needing to use the bathroom and wanting to check over her hair and face before she ventured outside to ask Isaac for a cigarette. She was aware that she was still clad in nothing but Bane's shirt and a pair of underwear underneath, but Jenna didn't care at the moment. She figured it was still early –Bane was usually never in his room so early in the morning – and she figured it was safe to assume all of his men were still upstairs. But as soon as she began up the stairs and could see the main level, her heart skipped a beat when she noticed one of Bane's armed men standing by the closed bathroom door, his body and gun primarily facing it. Jenna swallowed as she quickly moved to hold down her shirt, and she silently cursed at the henchman, the mayor who was obviously in the bathroom, and Bane's orders as she finally reached the top of the stairs. She considered just heading outside right away, but her bladder was burning, and she was not prepared to use the bathroom inside the garage. All that left was Isaac's bathroom in his room, but if Jenna was to use it, would that upset him in any way?

_I'll just tell him when I'm done_, she thought to herself as she moved cautiously down the hallway. _He won't be mad. _

The thug was glaring at her and Jenna found she was unable to help but to do the same, and as she approached him, she continued to hold down her shirt, suddenly confident that holding it down was doing the trick from keeping anyone to see what was underneath. But just before she could round the corner, and as her eyes focused on Isaac's ladder, dread instantly filled her when she realized the thug would be able to see _everything _as soon as she began to climb it. Jenna swallowed. It was too late to turn around and get dressed, and her bladder was still burning. _Fuck... _Jenna thought sourly to herself.

But when she approached the ladder, she noticed from the corner of her eye the henchmen had glanced away with a rather disgusted look on his face, and this made her feel a little bit better about the climb. But even after she had started, able to climb it a little more easily due to the slight use of her right hand, she couldn't help but to glance down over her shoulder just to ensure the man was still looking away. He was, and before Jenna realized it, she had reached the top of the ladder.

Isaac's door was closed, and when she approached it Jenna left a few knocks on the wood before waiting. When a silent minute passed, Jenna knocked again, a little louder this time as she hoped she wasn't waking him up at a bad time, but when another silent minute passed, Jenna cautiously reached out and turned the handle before she gently eased the door open.

Isaac's room was pitch black and silent, and Jenna tried to remain as quiet as she could as she took a small step inside. Once she was all the way in, she gritted her teeth slightly as she reached over to snap the light on, hoping Isaac would not be in bed, and when she saw his unmade bed was empty, she finally let out a sigh of relief as she closed the door behind her.

Even with Isaac's absence, Jenna's heart began to pound due to the memories the room brought back, but she purposely kept her eyes off of his bed, and instead focused on making her way to his bathroom, being extra careful not to run into any of his guns or weapons. Once she reached it, she turned on the light, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her.

After she had finished with everything she had wanted to do, Jenna stepped back into Isaac's room after turning off the bathroom light, and made her way to the door. Once she turned off the light and shut the door, she glanced over the railing to the main level and saw that the bathroom door was open and that armed thug was nowhere in sight. Letting out another sigh of relief, Jenna made her way down the ladder this time with a sense of security before she headed directly to the exit door, and after opening it and looking out to the garages, her eyes immediately focused on Isaac.

A light blanket of white covered the pavement, and upon glancing up, Jenna was shocked to see the sun was free of any clouds blockading it, leaving it free to shine down brightly. The rays did little for the temperature, however, and Jenna could already feel herself shivering as she stepped outside, well aware that she had been foolish enough to not have grabbed her boots, or at least a coat.

But figuring it would be better inside the garage, she lifted herself up on her toes and moved as fast as she could toward the garages, keeping her arms wrapped around her, and just when she was nearly ten feet from the garage, Isaac had finally caught sight of her. He cocked an eyebrow as Jenna neared, his eyes shifting downward to take in the clothes –or rather, lone _shirt_ she wore, and once she had stopped in front of him, his eyes barely had time to meet hers before he was shaking his head.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Jenna's brow furrowed as she looked at him, but as soon as she had figured out what Isaac was referring to, he rolled his eyes and interrupted her.

"It's _winter, _Jenna! It's nearly January, and you're out here wearing _that_, and hopping over to the garage like a rabbit. Where are your boots? Your _pants?_"

"I-I didn't have time to grab them," Jenna replied as she glanced down, but she couldn't help but to glance up at him with only her eyes, which appeared to be glowing in the bright light. Isaac stared into them for a moment before he placed his cigarette in between his lips, and he shook his head again.

"Didn't have time," he mumbled, the cigarette dangling from between his lips as he began to shrug off his dark green, military style coat. Jenna watched him with those furrowed eyebrows again, and as soon as Isaac had removed both of his arms from the sleeves and held it out to her, she began to shake her head.

"No, I'm fine," she protested. "Thank you, thou-"

"You're shivering," Isaac pointed out, and he glanced down to her left hand before he reached out to grab her wrist. Turing her palm face up, he placed his coat on top of it, and when Jenna instinctively took hold of it, she rolled her eyes as Isaac backed away.

"Don't you need it?" Jenna asked, eying his black t-shirt and bare arms, one of his tattoos barely showing from underneath the sleeve. Isaac took a drag from his cigarette before he removed it from his mouth while Jenna went about putting on the coat.

"No," he replied, blowing out the smoke. "I have pants on. And boots. You, on the other hand, are clearly too dumb to dress appropriately for _winter._"

Jenna knew he was joking, but still she couldn't help but to roll her eyes again and grumble to herself. "Can I get a cigarette?"

"They're in the pocket," Isaac said, nodding toward the large pocket that sat on the right side of her chest. Jenna glanced down as she opened the pocket, parting the strong Velcro that kept it together as Isaac watched her.

"So we've gotta do something today that you're probably not gonna like," Isaac began once Jenna took out the pack, and she glanced over to him with a frown. "And there's no getting out of it."

"If I don't like it I'm not doing it, Isaac," Jenna replied, but she feared there was more to this than she realized.

"Bane's orders," Isaac added with a smirk. _Of course_, Jenna thought sourly to herself as she plucked out a cigarette.

"...what are we doing?" Jenna asked before she lit up, and once she did, she replaced the box and lighter back into the pocket before she looked back to Isaac, her legs still shaking, but Isaac's coat was admittedly warm.

"Target practice," he replied, "with that." He nodded in Jenna's direction, and upon turning around, her eyes immediately focused on the gun she had held the day before, an identical one sitting against the wall directly next to it, and three large and tall wooden boards with fresh target stickers applied to them. She turned back to him with widened eyes.

"No," she immediately began. "Why? I can't-"

"You will learn," Isaac assured with a nod. "And we're doing it because Bane told me to train you."

"_Why_?" Jenna stressed, already feeling herself become more anxious than what was probably necessary.

"You'll have to ask him," he replied as he took another drag while looking away. Jenna was glaring at him.

"Isaac, I _know _you know," she replied in a higher, slightly whining tone. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"It'll do you good to hear it from him," he assured. "I suggest you stop whining when you go ask, though."

Jenna closed her mouth and glanced away as she took a drag. She didn't want to learn how to use that gun. She didn't want to be trained, and she most certainly did not want to ask Bane about it. "Is he expecting me to ask him?"

"I'd assume so," Isaac replied. "Why?"

Jenna remained looking at the ground as she took another long drag. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I had to use your bathroom when I woke up," she told him suddenly as she glanced up at him, wanting to stray away from where their previous subject had been headed to.

"Why?"

"The mayor was in the bathroom on the main level," she replied. "And I couldn't wait. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Isaac replied, glancing away as he finished off his cigarette, but as soon as he had thrown it onto the ground, he paused, a rather shocking thought coming to his mind. "Was somebody outside of the bathroom door?"

"Yeah," Jenna replied. "Why?"

Isaac's eyes widened. "And you climbed up that ladder next to him, wearing nothing but that shirt? _Bane's _shirt," he pointed out. Jenna felt her face flush as she glanced down, her answer obvious. "Jenna," Isaac hissed as he shook his head again. "You are all over the place today! What made you think that would be a good idea?"

"He wasn't looking," Jenna began to assure, to defend her actions, but Isaac was already interrupting her.

"Yeah, not that you know of," he pointed out. "These guys around here don't _like _you. One of them already died for disobeying Bane just so he could kill _you, _and given the chance one would probably try it again. And here you are, roaming around the warehouse like this, making yourself look as easy and vulnerable as possible."

"You don't have much faith in the rest of the guys around here, do you?" Jenna asked, ignoring his last comment, but Isaac ignored her question.

"Just don't do that again. Bane and I won't always be around to protect you." He watched Jenna roll her eyes again before she lifted her head to look away from him, her arms crossed, her cigarette burning from in between her fingers. Isaac figured he shouldn't care so much about her well-being, but it was that fateful, friendly pull that existed between them, and Bane's orders. Bane didn't want her dead, therefore, Isaac would help to ensure she stayed alive. "I'm only looking out for your best interests," he said a moment later.

Jenna sighed, closing her eyes. "I know," she finally admitted as she looked at him again. "I'm sorry, I know. Thank you... you're right."

"I usually am," Isaac replied. "Now, you gonna tell me why you're more careless than usual today?"

Jenna felt her heart skip a beat as the garage suddenly felt ten times colder, and her lips parted as she glanced up to him. She knew she had made it evident to Isaac that there was, indeed, something wrong with her, but she feared telling him about her night would not end well. _What if he gets mad_? She wondered. _He won't_, another half of her argued. _Besides, why the hell would he care_?

Jenna thought back to a time when Isaac _had _gotten mad over Jenna spending so much time with Bane, and all that they had done. To this day she still wasn't very sure why he had been, but she was not prepared to deal with him holding a grudge against her again. As of late, however, it seemed as though those feelings would not return to him. He seemed pleased with the way the situation with Jenna and Bane was going, and he was always preaching at her to just accept his new attitude. Not only that, but Jenna was positive that were it to have happened in the past, Isaac wouldn't have even liked the _idea _of Jenna wearing Bane's shirt. But now, perhaps she would be able to tell him. Perhaps he could help her, but although Jenna was desiring some sort of guidance, she could not pinpoint what it was that she needed help with exactly.

"Well, um... you know how I hadn't been sleeping good on that cot?" She began, expecting Isaac to merely nod in remembrance while waiting for her to go on, but instead she noticed he narrowed his eyes on her, his body perfectly still.

"_Hadn't_?" He repeated, and Jenna realized now that Isaac already knew something dire had gone on.

"Yeah..." she went on. "It was really bad last night, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I, um... asked Bane if I could sleep in his room..." The tones in which she ended her sentence on made it seem as if she had asked a question, and as soon as she was finished talking she glanced down.

This, truly, was shocking to Isaac. He had seen Jenna grow tremendously these past couple of weeks, but he had not been aware she held the amount of confidence needed to _ask_ Bane if she could sleep in his room, on his _bed, _with or without him, it didn't matter. Nobody in Bane's army ever dared to bother him after hours, unless it was a dire emergency, in which case they would always report it to Isaac first, so he could relay the message.

Although Isaac already knew the answer to his next question, he found himself asking it anyway. "Did he say yes?"

Jenna nodded as she forced herself to glance back up at him, and she took another hit from her cigarette. "He did," she replied verbally. "I was just as shocked as you are, believe me," she went on as she looked into his widened eyes, his own mouth agape.

"I can't believe you did that," Isaac said as he shook his head, a small smirk playing upon his lips. "I can't believe he said yes."

"Me either," Jenna mumbled as she glanced down again, taking another hit. "But the worst part about it is that I actually slept _so _good."

This was a complaint, and when Isaac glanced back over to her, he watched her close her eyes and shake her head. He laughed suddenly, a quick, breathless laugh, but it was sincere in understanding. "I'm gonna start calling you 'the Brave One'," he said, Jenna's eyebrows furrowing when she looked at him. "Nobody else would ever _dare _disturb him after hours. What time was it when you asked?"

"Like, one in the morning or something," she replied, watching as Isaac grinned to himself as he nodded.

"Yup," he confirmed. "You're now the Brave One. Or, actually, maybe not," he changed his mind. "Perhaps we should call you the _Lucky _One."

Jenna smiled, unable to help it. "Asking took some bit of bravery, didn't it?"

"Yes," Isaac agreed. "But bravery can still lead to death or a punishment. _You_ got _lucky_ with your outcomes. Therefore, you are the Lucky One."

"Fine," Jenna replied, taking another drag as she glanced out of the garage doors. "So... when do we have to do this? The gun stuff I mean."

Isaac let out another short laugh. "Gun stuff," he repeated with a roll of his own eyes. "As soon as you finish your cigarette and _get dressed,_" he answered. "So hurry up."

Jenna found herself doing as she was told, and when she was a good three hits or so from finishing her cigarette, she put it out on the ground and immediately started for the warehouse door in the garage. Normally, she wouldn't want to rush herself with getting past what she truly wanted to do before having to do what she _had _to, but in this case, she found herself wanting to get this target practice out of the way as quickly as possible. While she wanted to know why she was being forced to do this, she wasn't exactly eager to face Bane at the moment, especially not after sleeping in his room the night before. How was he feeling about that today? Angry? Regretful? What would he say to her about it? Whatever it was, Jenna just hoped it could end on good terms, as most of their conversations did lately.

Once she made it to the basement, she headed directly to her closed bedroom door, her sights focused on the door only, but once she placed her left hand on the handle, turned it, and pushed her door open, she froze on the spot, her eyes immediately meeting with those of the mayor's. He sat on the floor directly in front of her, his arms and legs wearing those chain links, the other half of them having been mounted to the wall, which Jenna was positive had not been there before, and when her eyes darted from the left to the right, she noticed the room was bare of the cot, her end table chairs, and most importantly, her clothes. Panic immediately swarmed over her entire being as she forced herself to breathe, and finally, when the mayor moved his legs and the clanking of chains was heard, Jenna finally found herself backing away from the door. She turned her head and saw that Bane's door was open, a brighter light shining from inside of it, and she swallowed before she immediately began over to it.

Bane was inside, and Jenna's eyes found him leaning over his desk, his right hand placed on top of it, fingers sprawled out while he wrote something down with the other. Still standing at the frame of the door, Jenna lifted her left hand to leave a few small knocks on it, and when Bane leaned up slightly and glanced over his shoulder to see who it was, Jenna took in a deep breath through her nose.

"Why is the mayor in my room?" She asked him, frozen at the door, and she watched Bane place his pen down before he stood at his full height to turn around and slowly approach her.

"I've relocated him to a more... suitable area," he explained simply .

"In... my room?" Jenna confirmed, raising her eyes higher and higher the closer Bane got to her, the sound of his boots amplified with each step he took. He nodded. Jenna swallowed again, confused entirely. Why had Bane moved the mayor into her room? Where was her cot? Was she seriously expected to sleep in that room with the mayor in there, as well? And on the cold, hard ground, no less? Jenna's heart was racing, and she began to wonder if there was more to this than met the eye. Clearly, Bane had gotten rid of her all her items. Was this it? Was this Bane _finally _getting rid of her? Had Jenna's request last night been the final straw? Had his granting her permission to obtain a wonderful night's sleep been a form of torture before he ultimately took her out? ...Was this target practice going to prove to be something else entirely...?

As Bane stared down at her, he watched her facial expression grow from confused to absolutely terrified as she stared down at the ground. "What is on your mind, Jenna?" He inquired, rather amused by the look on her face.

"W-where's my stuff?" She asked, swallowing to soothe her dry throat, and she looked up at him again. Bane continued to stare into her eyes, and without even so much as a blink, he nodded toward his bed. Thinning her lips, Jenna's eyes wandered in the specified direction, but when she saw nothing out of the ordinary on or near his bed, she glanced back to him in just enough time for him to step out of her way, and silently invite her into his room. Jenna hesitated for a moment, but before Bane could lose patience she took a cautious step inside, and when Bane remained silent, she figured she was to walk over to the area he had nodded at.

Able to feel his gaze on her, Jenna slowly rounded the bed, but once she had reached the furthest corner, she found her packed and zipped bag of clothes and her toiletry bag to be sitting on the floor, directly in between the bed and the boxes, with her boots, black coat, mirror shard and the knife Isaac had given her on the floor next to them. Her lips parted then, and without thinking she immediately turned back to Bane with slightly widened eyes.

"I took the liberty of moving your belongings in here," he explained, turning to take a step closer to the area in between the desk and bed. "Since the mayor is being kept in your room for his last night alive, you will sleep in here."

A tremor ran throughout Jenna's body. _What the fuck is going on_? She wondered desperately to herself. She had been so sure that Bane was planning on executing her, but she had never expected for _this _to be happening. Bane was moving her into his room? How could that be?

"After tonight then," Jenna forced herself to speak, clearing her throat when her voice came out sounding rather hoarse. "What will happen?"

"You will remain in here," Bane replied simply, and at that moment Jenna knew he was not going to explain his reasoning. Sure, Bane had been being 'nice' to her, but this was above and beyond that attitude.

"I don't understand," Jenna admitted, shaking her head slightly. "_Why_?"

Bane knew she would ask this question, and he had prepared his answer already. "Reasons that do not need to be discussed right now. They are not important. Simply accept this change, and do not worry about my reasoning."

Jenna licked her dry lips as she turned back to face her belongings on the floor. She knew Bane had reasons as to why he was doing this, but she was aware that she would probably never hear them. This was a problem, however, for she could not wrap her mind around what was happening.

"There are _rules_, however," Bane spoke up suddenly, his voice dropping an octave from behind his mask, and Jenna listened to him let out a hissing breath as he stepped closer to her. "Considering your _habits _that I observed you carry out in your old room, all of your belongings must always be kept where they are now: _in. Your. Bags_," he spoke clearly. "We will find a designated spot to keep your mirror piece, if you so choose to keep it, and your knife, which I'm sure you would like to keep, but other than those two items, your clothes and other belongings must always be put away, do you understand?"

Jenna immediately nodded, her heart still racing and thumping against her chest as she stared at her bags. She so desperately wanted to try asking him again why he had already made this arrangement, but she was still certain she would not receive an answer, and she most certainly did not want to annoy Bane, especially when she would be sleeping in his room every night now...

"Do I still have to knock before coming in?" She asked.

"I would prefer it you did," he replied. "This is still _my _room. You are merely a guest. Also, this room is not for you to spend 'alone' time in. The monitor on the wall is not for TV shows or spying on my men around the facility. You may spend longer periods of time in here when invited or if I have granted you permission."

Jenna was nodding. "Okay," she replied, expressing her understanding, and she hoped the single word would be enough to prove to Bane that she did understand. But at the same time, she had to wonder what she would spend the rest of her days doing, now that she didn't have her own room to hide in.

"And I'm _sure _I do not even have to worry about you smoking in here, am I correct?" He waited, and when he saw Jenna nod he went on. "Smoking will be done outside _only_... even though it is a harmful habit that you should think about breaking," he couldn't help but to add, thinking back to the many times he had desired to see Barsad quit.

A strike of worry stung through Jenna, but upon reflecting back to his words, she calmed herself down, telling herself that he was not going to force her into quitting. At least not now...

"I can assume that you rested rather... _peacefully_ last night?" Bane asked her, turning to lean against his desk, his eyes still focused on the back of her head. "You woke rather early, and your body does not appear to be in the battered stage it was before."

Jenna swallowed. "I did sleep good," she found herself admitting, feeling dizzy as soon as the words rolled off of her tongue. She finally forced herself to turn around, and she began to play with her fingers in front of her stomach. "T-thank you," she said, unsure if this was the proper thing to be said or not.

"We will see how this works out," he replied. Jenna nodded as she quickly glanced away, dying on the inside as she wondered wildly what good this arrangement would do for him. Just because he was on better terms with Jenna didn't necessarily mean he had to have her in the same room as him every night, did it? Jenna finally let out a silent breath, deciding she'd better just accept it was something that she would never understand fully.

When Bane stood up in front of her, Jenna abandoned her thoughts and glanced up to him. "I suggest you get dressed, and meet Barsad in the garage for your training," he told her now, his eyes wandering down her body, and it shocked him slightly to see she was still wearing his shirt. He began to turn to leave the room, but Jenna speaking up halted him in his tracks.

"Why do I have to do this?" She asked. "I-I'm not trying to complain, I just-"

Bane surprised her when he chuckled slightly. "I am well aware that you are not complaining to me on the _outside, _Jenna, but on the inside I can only image what terrible thoughts are running through your head. Tomorrow I will need all the assistance I can get with the task that is to be performed. I have gathered all of my men at the warehouse as well as others who do not take residence here. Tomorrow, sheer panic will erupt with the single sound of a shot being fired into the crowd, and I will need everybody, armed and prepared, to ensure we can escape the panic, unharmed, before carrying out the rest of the tasks that lie ahead."

Jenna felt herself shivering again as she thought back to how ruthless Barsad had been with his gun. Was Bane seriously expecting the same behavior from her? "I don't understand," she said again, furrowing her brow as she glanced down slightly. Bane continued to stare at her, and as he watched Jenna struggle to figure it out for herself, he took a few steps in her direction before he was standing directly in front of her, and once he had stopped, Jenna finally glanced up.

"Tomorrow we kill the mayor in front of the public eye," Bane answered her silent question, his eyes bouncing back and forth between hers. "The plan has been discussed and accepted. All you need to do is master your training to the best of your abilities, and follow your orders from there."

Jenna was shaking her head, already finding so much wrong with his plans of involving her. "I can't just learn how to shoot _that _gun in a day," she protested, and she found herself stammering when Bane narrowed his eyes on her. "I-I mean I've never done a-anything like that, and I'm scared of... messing up tomorrow."

"You are not scared of messing up, Jenna," Bane argued calmly. "You are scared of what _will happen _if you do." His eyed narrowed on hers more, and he titled his head slightly to gain a better look of her face when she started to lower her head. "What's already got you acting like this, Jenna? I had been expecting an argument, or some measure of force to drag you out to that garage, and if not, a mere, silent nod from you, accepting what is expected of you. But yet, here you are, trembling, and stuttering through your words. Why?"

Jenna swallowed. She most certainty did not want to lie to Bane, but at the same time she did not want to tell him the truth. She was barely able to fathom, herself, just how shook up she was due to learning her new sleeping arrangements. It was something she would have never thought was possible of happening, even in the past, before her punishment. But now that it was, she had a hard time picturing how it would go. At the same time, she knew she would fail at training, and ultimately fail with her tasks tomorrow. Her mind was unable to focus on anything else.

Bane was still waiting for an answer, and when Jenna realized this she cleared her throat and merely shrugged at him, finally lifting her eyes to look into his. Bestowing him with no answer wasn't exactly the same as lying, was it?

Bane studied her face for another moment before he finally stood straight again. "I will ask you this question again later, but for now you are wasting precious time. Get dressed, meet Barsad, and he will answer the rest of your questions."

Jenna watched Bane finally turn and exit the room, pulling the door shut behind him, and once the door clicked into place, Jenna finally let out the breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding. Her heart was still pounding against her chest, and she felt as though everything around her was spinning wildly, and closing in on her. She glanced up and looked around the room, feeling her lips go dry again, and she licked them before she finally turned to head over to her bag.

After she had dressed quickly in her usual, uniform-like attire, she grabbed her coat and a hair rubber band from her toiletry bag, and after zipping up both of her bags and pushing them out of the way as far as she could, she immediately started upstairs, putting her hair up in a high ponytail as she went.

Isaac was still waiting for her in the garage, his truck bed loaded with all the necessary items they needed for the day, and when Jenna glanced down to look at him as she neared, she saw he looked rather annoyed.

"What took you so long?" He asked. "We don't have all day to this, Jenna."

"I'm sorry," she replied quickly, her biting tone causing Isaac to immediately pause and glare at her. "Something... came up."

"Like?" He pressed on. He tried to wait as patiently as he could, but after watching Jenna's lips part and close as she struggled to find an answer, his patience was lost, and he dug his keys out of his pocked before he started around the truck. "Just tell me in here."

Frowning, Jenna quickly climbed into the cab of the truck, and as soon as she closed the door, Isaac started the vehicle and began to back out of the garage.

"Where are we going?" Jenna asked him once he switched gears, corrected the wheel, and headed straight. She expected him to follow the road, but when he suddenly made a sharp left turn to head completely off of the road and the slightly snow-covered field, she held onto her seat as the truck bounced. When she glanced over to Isaac, he finally replied.

"Near the creek," he answered simply. "So what's got you acting like this? Same issue as before?"

"Yes," Jenna found herself answering quickly. "But now it's become... worse."

"What is it then?" He asked, glancing back over to her. During the next silent minute, Isaac made it closer to the creek, and he turned his truck slightly to drive along side it, heading directly toward more, vast fields across from the warehouse's property.

Jenna was shaking her head, but she knew she had to answer him if she wanted his advice, though she still wasn't sure what advice he could give her. "Bane moved all my stuff into his room," she forced herself to answer as she kept her eyes focused out of the passenger side window. "I guess I'll be sleeping in there... every night now..."

She didn't give Isaac any time to reply before she was immediately turning to glance at him, and she had a difficult time reading the look that was on his face as he drove on. "That is..." he finally spoke up. "A rather unexpected turn of events."

"I know," Jenna mumbled. "I-I don't know what to think of it. I don't know what to do. Do we have to do this target stuff today?"

Isaac nodded. "We do," he replied, and he let out a long sigh a moment later as he started to press down on the brake.

"You're mad now," Jenna pointed out as she glanced down, unaware that Isaac had glanced down to her once the truck had stopped, and he put it in park.

"Mad?" He repeated. "I'm not mad, Jenna, I'm... truthfully a little annoyed."

Jenna swallowed before she cautiously glanced over to him, and she watched him push open his door. He was annoyed? She wondered. _Why? I _knew _I shouldn't have told him any of this... _

"Sniping requires a clear mind, relaxation and patience," he went on before he could get out of the truck, his eyes focused on the side of her face. "And now, I fear you're going to be unable to achieve at least any one of those." Without another word he finally got out of the truck, and with narrowed eyes Jenna glanced up and turned her head to watch Isaac take out the target boards from the bed of the truck before he started toward the front of the truck. She followed his movements with her eyes as she felt her frustration morph her facial expression. He was annoyed because she wouldn't be able to shoot well? With a roll of her eyes Jenna shook her head, crossed her arms, and glanced out of the window.

After Isaac had secured the targets in the ground, he jogged back over to the truck, and once he was inside, he flipped the truck around to start driving the opposite way. As he drove, he glanced over to Jenna a few times before he finally spoke up. "What's wrong?"

"You," Jenna replied, but her tone wasn't as biting this time. "I don't understand you sometimes."

"Why?" he asked her now. "Because I'm annoyed that this target practice is practically ruined?"

"Yes," Jenna replied, turning to look at him finally, and Isaac couldn't help but to grin.

"Why does that bother you? Were you seeking my advice on the matter?" He watched Jenna glance away, her answer obvious, and he couldn't help but to roll his own eyes. "I can't help you sort out every little issue, Jenna. This was something Bane decided suddenly, and I had no idea about it. I don't know what to tell you. I'm just annoyed because this happened at a pretty bad time. He didn't leave me much time to train you, and I don't think he realizes to the full extent what it takes to use these guns accurately and precisely. He's more of a close range guy, you know?"

Jenna was shaking her head, and she remained silent as she stared out of the window. But within a few more minutes, Isaac was stopping the truck, and when Jenna finally looked around, she saw that he had still driven alongside the creek, but that they had gone far beyond the warehouse. Jenna stared at it for a moment before she followed Isaac's actions with getting out of the truck, and with a small sigh she headed to the back in just enough time to watch Isaac hop up onto the bed and take out the two rifles he had packed away. Thinning her lips as anxiety began to creep up on her, Jenna watched Isaac jump off of the bed now, each gun held up in his hands, and he nodded over to the direction he was headed in, signaling for Jenna to follow. Her boots crunched down into the light layer of snow that covered the field as she moved to put her coat on, and once she had reached Isaac, she watched him carefully set one of the guns down before he knelt down onto the ground himself, still holding the other in his hand. Jenna followed his actions, and once she was kneeling beside him, she glanced down to the gun once Isaac started talking.

"Now, this is a Barrett M107 long range sniper rifle," he began to explain, his eyes focused on Jenna to ensure she was focused on the gun in his hands. But when Jenna closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, he realized he had already lost her.

"Isaac..." she complained. "I don't know what any of this means. Do we _really _have to do this?"

"Yes, Jenna, we do," he replied. "This rifle is a semi-automatic, holds ten rounds right here in the magazine–" he pointed to the detachable magazine, glancing up to Jenna as he did so, and once he saw she was still looking at the gun, he went on. "The range from the scope reaches nearly six thousand feet, but that's a lot more than we'll be needing today and tomorrow."

Jenna swallowed as she shifted her weight, and already she could feel her head throbbing as her hands began to shake. "Isaac..."

"Jenna, please," Isaac spoke quickly as he glanced back over to her. "This is important. I need you to pay attention."

"I know, I know," Jenna went on. "It's just, I'm not made for this stuff, you know?"

"That's irrelevant," Isaac replied. "That's why I'm training you. Now just shut up, have an open mind, and do what I tell you."

"Fine," Jenna mumbled, knowing there was absolutely nothing she could say or do to convince Isaac otherwise. "But I'm just gonna tell you now that _telling_ me about the gun won't do you much good."

Isaac smirked slightly. "I am just reciting the basics to you Jenna. It's good to know a few things about the weapon you will be handling, wouldn't you say so?"

Jenna stared at him for a moment. "I guess, but not when I don't understand a word your saying. Like magazine? Semi-automatic?"

Isaac sighed. "The magazine is what holds the rounds, or the ammo," Isaac explained as he removed the magazine from the gun to show her. Jenna's eyebrows furrowed.

"As in the _bullets_?" She asked, glancing up to him. She had been positive she was correct with her deciphering, but just when she began to wonder why Isaac couldn't have referred to them as 'bullets' in the first place, she felt her shoulders slump when he made an indecisive face, his eyes squinting as he lifted the corner of his lip with a shrug.

"Not really," he replied. "That's incorrect, but in your case, sure." He replaced the magazine back into its spot with a loud click, and Jenna felt the confusion coming over her again. "Semi-automatic just means that the gun fires a single round each time the trigger is pulled, ejects the spent round, chambers a new cartridge, and resets the action. Then it repeats." He glanced up to her, and he smirked slightly when he saw Jenna's blank stare as she stared at the gun. "Do you follow?"

"Barely," Jenna mumbled. "Am I supposed to take a final exam on this shit before I can use it?" She wondered sarcastically as she lifted her eyes to glare at him. Isaac was still smirking at her.

"There might be," he replied."Hopefully you were paying attention, because now it's time to _use _it."

Jenna bit her lip when Isaac handed her the gun that he had been holding. She wrapped her fingers around areas of the gun she figured were safe to hold, the fingers on her right hand just barely holding it, but before Isaac let go, he tightened his grip and pulled the gun and Jenna closer to himself.

"Do _not _put your finger _anywhere _near that trigger 'till I say so, understand?"

"Yes," Jenna replied quickly, her eyes focused intently on his, and she felt her heart skip a beat due to the sheer seriousness in Isaac's voice. He stared into her eyes for a few minutes longer before he finally let go of Jenna's gun to pick up his own. She stayed put as she watched him turn around with the gun, and before she even had a few seconds to collect her thoughts and try to get over some of her anxiety, Isaac was already motioning her over.

"Alright, so the stance we're gonna use is called 'Prone'," he began. "Basically you lay on your stomach, and most of the gun's support will be due to the bipod," he explained as he motioned to the two leg-like stands on either side of the gun. "So before you bring it up, your broken arm won't be a problem for this, although I suggest you use your left hand for the trigger."

Jenna's lips parted in protest, but she quickly held herself back from talking when Isaac turned toward her more.

"Now, lay on your stomach," he advised. "Keep the gun pointed _that way _and don't touch the trigger."

"Isaac, I know," Jenna grumbled as she struggled to keep the gun pointing in front of her while she lowered herself onto her stomach. Instinctively, she bent her legs at the knees to lift her feet in the air, but when Isaac saw this he couldn't help but to grin slightly as he set his gun down before standing up.

"No," he began as he knelt down behind her. He reached up to grab Jenna's ankles, and as soon as she felt his hands on her she couldn't help but to jump slightly, and she held perfectly still as Isaac lowered her legs. "Keep your legs spread," he advised as he stood up now, and Jenna swallowed as she kept her eyes focused on the ground, listening to Isaac move behind her. She jumped again slightly when she felt Isaac use his own foot to kick hers gently, correcting their position to lay sideways on the ground, and once he was satisfied, he knelt down by her side again.

"Put your right hand here to hold it for support," he went on, waiting for Jenna to place her hand where he had said to. "And keep the back of the gun placed tight against your shoulder." He reached out to fix her hold on the gun, and he watched her flinch when he pushed the rifle back some so it was pressed tightly against her shoulder. "How's that feel?"

"It hurts," she complained.

"Holding this way will cause the recoil to be absorbed through your body. It'll help with your accuracy," he went on, ignoring her comment. "Now the targets are directly in front of us. Hold the gun like I said, look down the scope, and tell me if you can see them clearly."

Taking in a deep breath, Jenna tightened her hold on the gun as best she could with her right hand before she lowered her head slightly to glance down the scope. "I can," she replied, surprised, again, with how large they appeared to be.

"Do you see the scope's dot on whatever you're aiming at?"

"Yes," Jenna replied, keeping her eyes focused on it. She jumped a moment later, however, when she felt Isaac nudge her legs with his boot.

"Keep them spread," he commanded, and he ignored Jenna's sigh as she spread them out again, forcing herself to keep her feet in the fixed position Isaac had put them in. Jenna kept her sights focused through the scope, but when she felt a slight pressure against the gun and a clicking noise reached her ears, she glanced up and over slightly to look at Isaac.

"The safety's off," he announced. "Now look through the scope, aim for the center of one of the targets, breathe, and just relax. Clear your mind, and focus."

Taking in a deep breath, Jenna looked through the scope again, but when she felt her finger instinctively place itself on the trigger, she quickly moved it away with a jerk of her hand, and she took in another breath. _Relax_? She thought. How could she relax? Here she was, being forced how to learn how to use this gun so she could ultimately use it during one of their _real _missions. She knew they were expecting her to kill somebody; she highly doubted Isaac was training her so she could be used as mere back up. How could she relax knowing she would be ending somebody's life tomorrow...

And clear her mind? How was she supposed to do that when all she could focus on were Bane's new arrangements? She would be _sleeping _in his room. Every night. Right next to him, in _his _bed. When she slept in his room the night before it was to simple catch a break, obtain one good night of sleep before she returned to her cot. But now Bane was taking matters into his own hands. He was _forcing _her to sleep in his room, whether she wanted to or not, but what scared Jenna the most was when she began to realize that perhaps she actually wanted to. But could she? It was wrong, it was disgusting, it should be undesirable, but at this point she found herself already getting addicted to the sweet sensation of a deep, restful sleep. But was it worth it in Bane's room? In his bed? Next to him, listening to him breathe beside her, feeling his every movement beside her, feeling his bare skin against hers...

With the amplified, echoing sound of a shot being fired, Jenna jumped as she moved back while she pushed the gun forward, and as her shoulder began to ache and her ears began to ring, her jaw dropped as she stared down the field, wide-eyed. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she glanced over to Isaac, who appeared to look confused.

"What were you aiming at?" He asked, picking up his own gun to glance down the scope. "You didn't hit anything, Jenna."

"I-I'm sorry," she forced herself to croak out, and she cleared her throat as she glanced forward again, suddenly unable to clear the image of sleeping next to Bane from her mind. "Isaac I really don't think I can do this." Lowering his weapon, Isaac glanced over at her.

"You have to, Jenna," he replied. "And we're not leaving here until I see improvement. What happened?"

"I don't know," Jenna replied, deciding quickly she would not tell him the exact images her mind had been flashing her. She felt her body tingling with an odd sense of warmth and pain, and she shut her eyes tightly. "I just–"

"You're not relaxed, you're not focused," Isaac said. "Just take a minute and think back to something that made you feel relaxed, or happy. Picture it, take a deep breath, and try again."

"Is this what you do?" Jenna asked, glancing at him again.

"I used to, but I don't need to anymore," he replied. "Years of experience. Now try again."

Sighing, Jenna pulled the gun closer to herself again and looked down the scope.

"Where are you aiming?"

"The middle target," she replied, struggling to keep her index finger off of the trigger. Isaac became silent beside her, and desiring nothing more than to be done with this, Jenna followed his advice and closed her eyes, deciding the first calming memory that came to her would be the one she would focus on. But as soon as she closed her eyes, and allowed her body to relax, she found she was standing outside, just underneath the opened, garage door. Tears were falling from her face as she kept her head and gaze down, but suddenly there was a gentle hand against the side of her face. A thumb moved across her cheek to wipe away one of the tears, and as the memory went on, she felt herself relaxing. She focused on the target, struggled for a moment to line up her sights with the green dot inside the scope, and she took in a deep breath as she let the memory go on.

That comforting hand was still on the side of her face, gentle and warm, but when Jenna finally pictured herself to glance up, she couldn't help but to gasp in real time when her mind flashed her a picture of Isaac staring down at her, a cigarette fixed loosely in between his lips. Jenna's lips parted as she placed her finger on the trigger, but despite the feeling of her heart skipping several beats, she found she was completely relaxed, and after she took in another deep breath, just as she exhaled slowly, she pulled the trigger.

She couldn't help but to jump again due to the recoil, and she winced when more pain shot through her shoulder to be carried out to the rest of her body, but as the ringing in her ears faded away from the shot, she glanced over to Isaac, watching as he stared down the scope of his own gun, and she swallowed when she felt her heart skip a beat again.

"Well you hit it," he said, more enthusiasm in his voice. "That's a good start. What were you thinking about?"

"Uh..." Jenna immediately began to stutter. "J-just... nothing," she replied quickly. Why had her mind gone back to Isaac, and what they had done just before their ultimate betrayal? That wasn't a very relaxing thought, given all that had come after it and the repercussions they had faced. But if this was so, then why had it helped to relax Jenna?

"Well, it worked," Isaac assured. "Try it again. Aim for the middle, you were borderline the very bottom of the target."

Jenna fixed her position on the ground, but when she went to hold the gun closer, she frowned as she moved her arms around a bit.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked as he turned to look down at her, and he watched Jenna carefully set the gun down, his eyes staying focused on it for a moment before he lifted them to look up at her.

"This fucking coat," she complained under her breath as she tried to push the sleeves up, but when this failed, she quickly fixed them before she let out a sigh. She began to take the coat off, but when Isaac noticed her instantly began to shiver, he began to shrug his own off, and by the time Jenna had discarded her coat next to her, Isaac was handing her his.

"Don't you need it?" Jenna asked him again, watching as he shook his head. Without another word, Jenna put the coat on, and after she pushed up the sleeves, she laid back down on her stomach and pulled the gun closer to herself. Isaac leaned over to help her hold and the position, and after he checked the position of her spread legs and feet and became satisfied, he leaned away from her.

"Alright, do whatever you did again. Focus a little harder this time."

Jenna looked down the scope, deciding she'd go with a different thought this time. She was quick to think back to how Isaac had just given her his coat, how he was always giving her his coat, and she took in a deep breath, feeling as though she was just realizing, again, how thoughtful and helpful he really was toward her, even in the smallest ways. But the smallest ways always seemed to mean the most...

She pulled the trigger, her ears ringing as the booming noise echoed on, and after she flinched again, she glanced down the scope to see where she had hit.

"You're a little higher, but still far below the center," Isaac said. "That's good. How do you feel?"

"Shouldn't we be wearing some sort of ear protection?" Jenna asked as she looked over to him. "And my shoulder is fucking killing me."

Isaac laughed. "Your ears are fine," he assured. "And just think, tonight you'll get to sleep in Bane's bed. It'll take care of that pain quickly."

He was grinning, but already Jenna could feel her anxiety coming back. "Isaac!" She scolded. "That's _not _funny. What about relaxation? The fuck am I supposed to do now?"

Isaac was still laughing. "Now that I think about it, all this did come at a rather good time. You've gotta be able to achieve that focus no matter where you are, or the situation at hand. Consider that more training." He watched Jenna roll her eyes before she finally glanced back into the scope, and just when she had fixed her position, Isaac smirked as he glanced forward. "Plus it's just fun to mess with you," he added.

Jenna rolled her eyes again, wondering how the hell she was supposed to focus again when all this dread was surrounding her, but she paused suddenly, a new thought coming to mind. What if Bane _wasn't _making her sleep in his room? What if he wasn't _forcing _her to do what she didn't want, after all? It was clear that Jenna was desperate for more restful sleep, but what if ultimately Bane was simply _helping _her, and doing her another favor? Clearly he must understand how difficult it will be for Jenna to adjust, but she'd be foolish to think that Bane wouldn't be going through the same difficulty. It wasn't an act of forcefulness, it was an act of... _kindness... _

Jenna pulled the trigger, jumping again due to the recoil, though this time it didn't feel as bad. Her arms weren't pent up in her tight jacket, and she had been more prepared for the feeling. Before she had time to glance down the scope again, Isaac was already taking.

"That's a lot better," he said. "You were _just_ below it." He lowered his gun and glanced over to her. "See, this isn't _that _terrible, is it?"

Jenna found herself shaking her head, and she smiled at him slightly. _Maybe not now_, she thought. _But tomorrow will be a whole different story... _

–

Target practice droned on for Jenna for a a good majority of the day, but fortunately for Isaac, he was able to watch Jenna improve more and more as the hours went on. Constantly correcting her position, her hold on the gun, her breathing and relaxation, by the time practice was up Jenna was doing better than he could have imagined, and he couldn't help but to be proud.

"I'm impressed," he told her after he collected the targets and began through the field and toward the warehouse, lighting up a cigarette as he drove. Jenna had just finished hers, and she tossed the butt out of the window and into the snow. "I didn't think it would go so well honestly."

"Me either," Jenna agreed, though she couldn't surpass the exhaustion that had overcome her, or the anxiety about tomorrow. She had since then given Isaac his coat back, and when she turned to him, she glanced at the coat before she licked her lips in thought. "Am I supposed to wear my black coat tomorrow though?"

"It'll be cold," Isaac replied. "Unless you have a different coat?"

Jenna shook her head, feeling slightly frustrated as she thought back to how difficult her black coat had made it to use the gun properly. The sleeves did not allow for her to comfortably bend her arms the way they needed to be to hold the gun, and she had a feeling that it would be a good idea to avoid any and all possibilities of screwing up tomorrow as best she could. "Do you think I could go to my house and find a new coat?" She wondered aloud as she looked at Isaac again.

"I'm not the one to be asking," he told her, glancing at her as well for a second before he looked forward, just as they had reached the warehouse's property. Jenna remained silent as Isaac maneuvered the truck to the garages, and as soon as he had parked outside of them and turned the truck off, Jenna turned to him.

"Do you think Bane would let me?"

"It's hard to say," Isaac said as he pushed open his door, Jenna following his actions, and after she had closed hers she looked at Isaac from over the truck bed. "It's worth a shot though," he added.

Nodding to herself, Jenna turned around without a word to begin over to the exit door, deciding it definitely was worth a shot. Granted she was far less than eager about the mission tomorrow, she was still determined to avoid any mistakes on her part. She could only imagine what Bane would do if she were to make any...

Jenna barely had any time to realize how much more warmer the warehouse was than outside as she ventured to the dark basement, and straight to Bane's door. It was closed, no light shining through the bottom, but regardless, Jenna lifted her left fist and knocked. The basement grew silent as she waited, and after a moment had passed, she lifted her fist to knock again, hoping she was not disturbing him. Just as she bit down on her lower lip, however, she heard a door opening behind her, and upon turning to face her old bedroom door, she watched one of Bane's men step outside of it before her eyes fell on Bane, stepping out after the man. Turning his head and immediately finding Jenna, he began over to her as the thug closed the door before he started for the stairs.

"Jenna," Bane greeted as he approached her, Jenna holding her ground all the while. "How did it go?"

Knowing he was referring to target practice, Jenna nodded slightly. "Good, I think," she replied, watching Bane nod. His breathing stopped suddenly, and Jenna interrupted him before he could begin talking again. "I had a question... actually," she spoke quickly, deciding she really didn't want to discuss her practice anymore than necessary. The sound of Bane's breath escaping through the mask returned, and Jenna felt a chill run through her as she listened to it while Bane waited for her to continue. "I-I was wondering if I could... run to... my house-" she stopped short suddenly, studying Bane's features. "And get a new coat," she continued quickly. "The one I have now is... no good for... shooting."

"I was under the impression you were shooting _targets_, Jenna, not your coat," Bane replied, his eyes narrowing on hers. He watched her lips part in confusion as she thought back to his words, but once she realized he was only joking, she smiled slightly as she shook her head, her smile fading quickly.

"No, I mean wearing it. It's hard to bend my arms, and it's just uncomfortable." She cleared her throat as she glanced back up to him. "I just figured for tomorrow that it would be smart to wear something more comfortable," she went on quickly, "so I can... perform better."

"Perform," Bane repeated as he nodded. "I'm surprised that you're even concerned about your performance tomorrow. Truth is, I find it hard to believe how rather... well... you are handling this."

Jenna shrugged. _I don't have a choice, _she thought, but aloud she said: "I figured complaining won't do any good here."

Bane nodded. "Indeed, you are right. You may venture to your house to obtain a new coat, but... Barsad must go with you."

Jenna couldn't help but to furrow her eyebrows as she narrowed her eyes on Bane, for she had quickly picked up on the tone that overcame his voice. His pitch had dropped to a lower octave, and he seemed almost unsure as he spoke those words. But after a few long seconds had passed, Jenna quickly nodded.

"Okay, thank you," she said.

Bane didn't say anything else to her, and instead he walked past her to open his door and step inside. Jenna listened to him behind her, and once his door closed, she started for the stairs.

It appeared as though Isaac had just finished with unloading his truck by the time Jenna approached him, and as soon as he glanced over at her Jenna spoke up.

"Bane said I could go, but you have to come with me."

"Now?" Isaac asked, his own brow furrowing.

"If... that's okay," Jenna went on, watching Isaac turn away with a sigh.

"Alright," he said, digging out his keys from his pocket. "Dom, carry those up to my room. Leave them outside of the door," Isaac commanded to somebody who had been standing in the garage as he pointed to the two gun cases he had just placed on the floor. The man nodded, and as he approached the gun cases Isaac unlocked his truck and got inside in unison with Jenna.

"Thank you," she said, looking over at him as she put on her seat belt.

"Let's just be quick," Isaac said as he began to back away from the garage. "I have a lot I need to get to before tomorrow."

Jenna nodded in understanding, deciding she would have been quick regardless. She wasn't thrilled about going to her house, and she most certainly did not want to stay there for longer than necessary.

–

The ride into town seemed to go by quick. While Jenna managed to smoke two cigarettes as she stared out of the window, Isaac kept to himself, keeping his music on a moderate level, and every now and again when Jenna glanced over at him, she would watch him mouth the words to the songs as he drove along, his sleepy eyes focused in front of him while he kept one hand on the wheel. They listened to mainly rock songs, some of the songs a bit slower or gentle than the more upbeat ones. Jenna figured this music was suiting for Isaac, especially since she had never pictured him liking any type of music. Sometimes, however, just as a new song would start, Isaac would quickly reach out and skip the song, and after the forth or fifth time of doing this, Jenna began to get suspicious. What were the songs he was skipping?

But before she had time to contemplate it too long, Isaac was parking along the the curb on the street adjacent from hers. Jenna grew confused, but she decided not to question Isaac as she stepped out of his truck in unison with him, and she immediately began to shiver as they both crossed the street and began toward her house, their boots crunching in the snow and ice. But as soon as Jenna caught sight of her old house past the trees, she felt her jaw drop as her eyes wandered all over the yellow police tape that had been wrapped _everywhere _around her house. She stopped just before they could reach the drive way, and once Isaac heard her fall back, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.

"What's all this?" Jenna asked, turning to look at him. Isaac merely shrugged.

"Your house has been quarantined," he explained. "Police access only for the investigation of your parents murders, and your disappearance. Or, murder," he added with a smirk.

"But then we shouldn't be here," Jenna argued as she took a step back, but she stopped in her tracks when Isaac grinned and reached out to grab her left wrist.

"They did this before the attack on the police stations, Jenna. They have more important things to worry about then patrolling your house to investigate a murder they already know the answer to. We're fine. C'mon." He tugged her closer to himself before he turned to head over to the house, but as soon as they reached the fence, he finally realized his fingers were still clutched around her wrist. Clearing his throat, he finally let go, and he glanced over to Jenna before he nodded toward the fence. "You think you can climb that still?"

Jenna nodded. "I think so." Regardless of Isaac's reassurance, Jenna's heart would not stop racing as she placed both of her hands on the fence, and as soon as she pulled herself up, using her left hand mostly, she placed her feet on the fence before she began to climb, Isaac staying below her all the while, just to ensure he could catch her if she was to fall. Jenna hadn't noticed this, and by the time she was jumping down from the top of the fence and hitting the ground below, Isaac had already climbed the fence with ease, and they began toward the house.

An odd sense of dread began to swarm Jenna as they made their way to the front door, which had been blockaded by a thick sheet of wood. Rather than worrying about how they would get in the house, Jenna glanced all around her surroundings as she openly shivered, her eyes wandering all over the police tape. A lump began to rise in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it back as soon as they had reached the front door.

"Stand back," Isaac advised. Jenna immediately did as she was told, and as soon as she stepped off to the side, she watched Isaac kick down the wood from the door, and she couldn't help but to jump as the wood cracked with a loud boom. Behind it, Isaac had managed to kick most of the door off of its hinges, and with another kick he sent the door flying back into the house with an equally as loud booming noise. Her heart now pounding, Jenna followed Isaac into her old house, and as soon as she stepped inside, she felt goosebumps cover her arms as she looked around. It was immediately obvious to her that her parent's body's has been removed, and while she was thankful for this, she couldn't help but to wonder where, exactly, they had gone, or who was to be taking care of it. Pushing the thought aside, she ventured further into the house, glancing past her shoulder and out of the door, but after she had done this for the third time, Isaac spoke up.

"Stop, Jenna, nobody is coming. You're fine. Even if they do we'll be able to get away with ease."

When Jenna glanced over at him, she couldn't stop her eyes from wandering down his body before stopping on his handgun holster that sat at his hip. Jenna swallowed before she flashed him a small smile, and she nodded.

"I know," she assured before she sighed. "Hopefully I'll be able to find something in my mom's closet."

"Good luck," Isaac replied with a smirk as he turned to glance up at the various pictures on the walls. "This space seems so much smaller when it's not crowded with people."

At first, Jenna glanced at him with a furrowed brow, but when she suddenly remembered the first time she had met Isaac, her features softened, and she couldn't help the grin that overcame her face.

"You know, I _always _forget that you were there that night. You were so... different."

Isaac chuckled. "I was pretending to be somebody I'm not, Jenna. That's why."

"Well yeah, but still. Even thinking back I mean, it was still you, you know?"

"I'm not sure I follow," Isaac replied as he turned back to her, and he took a step closer to Jenna, who was standing in the middle of the great hall.

"I mean, you had been nice and came off as helpful, even then. When you were at the stupid party and lying about be a chauffeur."

Isaac's grin faded into a smirk, but the expression was still sincere. "I had been faking it at the time, before I could have ever imagined that one day it would all become real."

Jenna smiled, and she glanced down with a nod.

Isaac remained staring at her for a few seconds longer when Jenna finally lifted her head, but just as he realized what he was doing, he quickly glanced away and blinked before he casually looked at her again. "It's shame we took you away from all this before you could experience the _culture_," he teased as he raised his arms up slightly to gesture to the entirety of the house.

Jenna laughed, realizing immediately that he was referring to what her mother had said that night. "Yeah, such a shame," she replied, though suddenly she wasn't sure if she meant this, or if she was only kidding as well. When Isaac's smirk finally faded, Jenna nodded to herself before she finally turned around, deciding now would be a good time to get her coat. But as soon as she turned around, she was quick to notice a blinking red light on their telephone that sat on top of one of the tables near the stairs. Her eyes narrowing on it, and her curiosity heightening, she stepped over to the phone, and just as she reached it, Isaac turned around to glance at her.

"There's a message," Jenna announced, unable to help but to feel a little uneasy about this suddenly. Who would be calling her house months after her parents had died?

"Just leave it," Isaac advised as he took a few steps toward her, but Jenna was already pressing the button to listen.

"_You have one new message,_" the machine began. Jenna kept her eyes focused on the machine, and once Isaac had stopped next to her, he glanced down to stare at the side of her face before his own eyes roamed over to the phone. _"First new message, received Thursday, April 27th, at 8 o'clock, PM." _Once the message began, it was nothing but silence, the soft humming from the machine being the only noise, until an unfamiliar voice began to speak.

"_Hello... Miss Silvera..." _

Jenna felt her heart sink into her stomach as she listened to this random man's voice. The pitch of it was slightly higher, but while his words came out sounding shaky, his voice had an odd soothing and gentle tone to it as well. The recording went quiet again, and Jenna finally leaned away from the table.

"It's probably just somebody calling for my mom," Jenna said as she took a step back from the table, suddenly uninterested to hear what the rest of the message was. But she noticed how Isaac was keeping his eyes focused on the phone now. He hadn't missed the fact that this random man had said '_miss' _Silvera. Because of this, Isaac felt as though this message hadn't been for _Mrs. _Silvera...

Jenna hesitated for a minute before she pointed her thumb toward the stairs. "I-I'm gonna go run up and find a-"

"_You don't _know _who_ I_ am... but I know a lot about you... _Jenna_..." _

Jenna immediately froze as soon as she heard her name, and when Isaac glanced up to look at her, she hadn't even noticed this as she began to step forward to the phone again.

"_It was all because of your _good _friend, _Rodger_ here, that I learned about you. He was... _more _than willing to fill me in about you, Jenna, but his parents weren't as... willing... to talk." _The recorded voice took in a shaky breath before he continued, and Jenna felt a chill run up her spine as her lips parted.

"_But no matter, talking or _no _talking... I _saved _them from themselves. I, Mister _Victor Zsasz_, granted them a gift, Jenna... a gift that I'm ready to grant your _best friend_. But upon being here... in this filthy, _disgusting _and worthless house_!_" _The voice shouted suddenly, causing Jenna to jump, but as the man took in a few, steadying breaths, he immediately continued in a gentler tone of voice. "_I came to realize that _you... _are who I am really seeking. I've been away for some time now, you see... and I decided to have a little... _fun_ with this. I _may _spare your friend, or I may not, but the rule of the game is simple. If I don't hear from you within the next _twenty-four_ hours... your friend will blissfully _suffer_ in my hands due to _your _mistake. It is the ultimate sacrifice... and I must admit, I cannot _wait _to see how this plays out..." _The voice paused to take in another deep breath, and Jenna felt herself melting into a puddle on the floor. But before she or Isaac could reach out to stop the message, the voice began to speak again.

_"The mark – _your _mark... is calling me, Jenna... And I will not be denied it..."_

The recording stopped, and as silence filled the house, Jenna reached out to place her hands on the table to steady herself while Isaac glanced over to her.

"Who is that?" He asked, his voice completely gone of any playfulness, and instead had been replaced solely with a serious harshness.

"I-I don't know," Jenna replied, completely baffled and scared by this sudden happening. This random, _creepy _guy had Rodger and was supposedly prepared to kill him if Jenna didn't comply with his demands. Her breath became hitched in her throat as she closed her eyes, and suddenly she thought back to her dream. She was able to recall nearly every detail: how scared Rodger had been, his pleas, his gruesome death... Now it seemed as though her dream was about to become some sort of sick reality. She couldn't let Rodger die, she wouldn't, especially after it seemed his parents had already passed on. He didn't deserve it. He had been her only friend...

"Isaac," Jenna immediately began as she turned to him. "We've gotta go-"

"No," he interrupted quickly.

"But he has Rodger! I can't just let-"

"I said no, Jenna," Isaac repeated as he immediately began for the door. "Go get your coat, then we're leaving." He turned away from her to peer out of the door, looking side to side, ensuring they were still alone.

"I don't care about the damn coat anymore, Isaac, please!" Jenna's eyes widened as she took a step closer to Isaac, who had since then been standing by the door, waiting for her. He kept his eyes focused on hers, and Jenna shook her head slightly. How could he just stand there and easily decide not to do anything about this? "He lives right down the street, please can't we just-"

"Do you want the coat or not Jenna? _That _is the reason we came here, regardless of... that," he trailed off slightly as he turned his head away. But when Jenna remained silent, he finally turned back to her. "What's it going to be?"

"I don't care about the coat," Jenna replied in a sterner tone of voice. "Isaac, please just-"

"Let's go then," he interrupted, and before Jenna could get another word in, Isaac was already turning and marching out of the house. Feeling tears burn behind her eyes, Jenna forced them to stay at bay as she unwillingly following him out of the door, and she fumed silently to herself as they approached the fence. It wasn't fair. How was it that when Jenna wasn't even near somebody, they still ended up getting hurt? Assuming this random man was with Rodger right now, they still had an opportunity to save him. This didn't mean Jenna had to sacrifice herself, for she knew Isaac would be more than capable of putting an end to this Victor Zsasz guy. After, they would leave, and Rodger still wouldn't know where Jenna had gone. It would work out so well, and it would severely help Jenna in knowing that Rodger wasn't in danger anymore. Why wasn't Isaac willing to help her with this, of all things?

Isaac remained silent as they both climbed the fence, and as soon as they had reached his truck, he yanked open his door, got in, and started the car all in the same motion practically. Jenna was shaking her head to herself as she closed her door, and in a desperate attempt to get through to Isaac, she turned to him.

"Isaac, please just listen to me. I don't understand why we can't just go there real quick and make sure everything is okay, just to see-"

"We can't, Jenna, because it is not an order, and it would put you in danger," Isaac replied as he threw the truck in gear, and he immediately began to take off down the street. Jenna remained staring at him, her brows furrowing in frustration.

"So what, because this isn't one of _Bane's _orders you can't help me?"

"When I'm with you, I have only one lasting order, to keep you alive," he said. "Assuming that guy is there, I'm not going to chance it. Regardless of what happens to Rodger."

"Isaac, I know you don't know him or care but he's my friend. He-"

"Yeah, some friend he is, ratting you out to that psycho guy, Jenna, can't you see that?"

"He didn't!" Jenna practically shouted at him as her body began to shake, even though she couldn't be sure of this. "Isaac please, Bane's orders or not, we have to help him! _Please_!"

"I will not go against Bane, whether he has given me an order or not," Isaac nearly shouted at her himself, and as the after effect of his voice faded from the cab, Jenna gnashed her teeth together as she turned to face forward, her arms crossed now.

"You have before..." she mumbled to herself as she glanced out of the window, positive that she had said this only in her head, but next to her ,Isaac's head whipped around to face hers.

"What?" He asked, glancing at the road for a moment before he looked back to the back of Jenna's head. "What did you say?" He wasn't sure why he was even asking this. He had already heard her, but something inside of him wanted to hear her say it again, just so he could be sure. "Jenna-"

"I said you've fucking done it before, Isaac," Jenna replied quickly as she turned to face him with raging eyes. "Don't look so surprised, Isaac, I was there." Jenna shook her head, feeling hurt swarm her. She didn't want to argue with Isaac, let alone yell at him, but she couldn't help the scared and hurt emotions that now had a dominate hold on her. She wanted to save Rodger, but she was beginning to realize she wouldn't be able to...

Isaac was staring at her still with wide eyes, and when he finally turned back to the road he felt a shock run up his spine and sting his neck. He reached his hand up to run it over the area before he slammed his hand back down onto the wheel, unsure really as to why they had even been arguing. Surely, Jenna had to realize why he couldn't just swing by Rodger's house. Bane knew nothing of this situation, he hadn't ordered Isaac to do anything about it, and he still had to prepare for tomorrow at the warehouse. But suddenly he could not get Jenna's comment out of his head.

_You have before... _

–

The ride back to the warehouse was as silent as ever. Isaac kept the radio off as he drove silently, speeding down the roads as the sun began to set, while Jenna kept her gaze focused out of the window, her arms crossed as she bounced along silently in the cab. She felt hurt, she felt scared, and she felt guilty for what she had yelled at Isaac. They had gotten past that betrayal, both with Bane, and with themselves. She had said that in the heat of the moment; she had been angry that Isaac was unwilling to help her, though as the ride went on, she began to understand why he couldn't. Still, she wanted to take it back, but the longer she went without talking, the more an apology seemed irrelevant. She had said it, she had meant it, and now there was really no taking it back.

Jenna's words repeated in Isaac's mind over and over during the entirety of the drive. The trip had been primarily pointless, he realized. On one hand, Jenna hadn't even gotten a new coat, but on the other hand, he had learned of a new, developing situation, and while it was random, it definitely had the opportunity of becoming dire. He wasn't worried about Rodger. He was somewhat worried about this Victor guy coming after Jenna. But he knew he didn't stand a chance. He didn't know where Jenna was, nobody did, and Victor would have a rough time going through Isaac _and _Bane. But even though Jenna would remain safe, he knew he had to tell Bane about the incident.

By the time he pulled up to the garage and shut off the engine, Isaac felt as though he was ready to speak to her about what to do with the situation. Even though he was not prepared to help Rodger, truthfully he had come to dislike seeing Jenna upset. "You should talk to Bane about it, see what he says. That's what I'm going to-"

"I was already planning on it," Jenna returned coldly as she pushed open her door, and Isaac watched her with parted lips as she immediately began toward the exit door, her stride long and angry, her hips swaying side to side as she grew further away. Isaac watched her go for a minute before he let out a sigh, and as soon as he took out the keys from the ignition he pushed open his own door.

The only thing on Jenna's mind at this point was saving Rodger, and the thought kept her from realizing what she was doing, or how fast her feet were carrying her. Before she knew it, she was stopping at Bane's open door, and with her lips thinned, she immediately raised her fist to knock on the frame of the door. Bane immediately appeared from the other side of the room, but Jenna had no interest in wondering what he had been doing. Bane kept his eyes focused on her as he approached, able to tell immediately that something was wrong.

"Where's your coat?" He wondered.

"Somebody left a message at my house," Jenna began, ignoring his question, and finally, as the weight of the realization of what she was doing fell upon her, she took in a shaking breath as she glanced down. "It was some guy, threatening to kill Rodger..."

"Your friend?" Bane confirmed, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared down at her. He watched Jenna nod before she finally glanced up at him.

"He said if I didn't contact him within twenty-four hours of the message, he was going to-"

"You?" Bane repeated. "As in _you _contact him specifically?" He watched Jenna nod, and he narrowed his eyes on her, baffled by this random situation. "What was his name?" He asked.

As soon as Jenna opened her mouth to speak, a different voice interrupted her.

"He said his name was 'Victor Zsasz," Isaac answered as he approached the two. Bane glanced up while Jenna looked over her shoulder, and she let out a breath through her nose as she turned away. "He called yesterday at 8 PM, and left a message explaining the developing situation."

"Which is...?"

"He has her friend held up at his house," Isaac went on as he motioned to Jenna. "He's killed her parents, and is waiting to kill the boy until he hears from Jenna, via phone call or a visit in person. I've never heard of this guy before. He's going specifically after Jenna."

As Jenna listened to Isaac go on, she began to realize he was speaking to Bane as if she wasn't there, and she most certainly was not about to fade away from the dire topic at hand.

"I need to know if he's alright," she quickly chimed in as she turned around before staring at Bane, and when both he and Isaac looked at her she went on. "He's my friend, and it's not fair that he has to suffer."

Bane couldn't have asked for a more random situation to develop, even if he tried, and he was definitely not pleased with the timing of this current one. Bane glared down at her for another moment before he turned back to Isaac. "How did this person learn of her?"

"The boy, I'm guessing. He must have told him about her, in hopes of saving himself."

Jenna's jaw dropped as she looked at Isaac then back to Bane. "We don't know that," she immediately started. "Bane please, I-"

"I will not have you visiting a man that is set on _killing _you, Jenna. And I most certainly will not send my men out on something so trivial."

"Trivial?" Jenna repeated as she took a step closer. "This is my friend's life we're talking about! I-"

"It is a matter of yours as well, Jenna. As for right now there is nothing I am willing to do. Was anybody else around the house?" Bane asked as he turned back to Isaac.

"By the time you _want _to it could be too late!" Jenna argued as she took another step forward, but as soon as she did, Bane caught a swift hold of her upper arm, and Jenna flinched as he calmly forced her to turn around. He gently pushed her into his room, and without a word he closed the door. Jenna's jaw hanging slack, she immediately turned around to face the door, instinctively reaching out to turn the handle, but she stopped just before her hand could touch it, her mind warning her that would be a terrible idea. Closing her mouth and grinding her teeth together, she listened to Isaac's voice as he and Bane began to walk away.

_"The house and surrounding area were empty... we..." _Isaac's voice faded away, and as soon as Jenna could hear nothing but the sound of their retreating footsteps, she rolled her eyes to herself as she turned to take a step forward into the room. It seemed as though she had been getting through to Bane, or at least had had his full attention, but as soon as Isaac approached them, his attention on her was lost. Of course Bane would take Isaac's word before Jenna's, she knew and understood this, but she knew Isaac would explain the situation in such away to make it seem less dire than it really was. Jenna paced around the area in front of the door for a minute as she let her mind run free, wondering what that guy was doing with Rodger right now. Bane had said he was unwilling to do anything for _right now_. Did that mean Jenna still had time? Was she running out of time? Was she too late...?

Swallowing, Jenna finally plopped down on Bane's side of the bed, but as soon as she realized where she had sat, she immediately scooted over to her side of the bed, and she shook her head to herself as she crossed her arms, her back leaning against the pillow. How could she sit by idly while her friend was in danger? Why couldn't Bane – especially Isaac – realize how important this situation was to her? Now, how could either of them expect her to try her hardest tomorrow when her mind would be focused solely on this?

Whatever it was that they were discussing, Jenna hoped they would make the right decision...

* * *

**As always, thank you so much for the reviews and support guys. I can't even begin to describe how much it all means to me. Please leave me a review with your thoughts, I wanna know how you feel about Victor Zsasz suddenly coming into play! If you'd like, you can find a list of links to my facebook and various other Tumblr accounts. Add or follow me! I love talking to my readers! **

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!**


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